The Other Battlefield
by Genril
Summary: This battlefield was completely different to the one Lightning and Fang were used to. FLight
1. Chapter 1

**The Other Battlefield**

_You'll have to suspend belief in this story, presuming that once Fang and Vanille came out of crystal stasis, they awoke to an already well-established world, filled with technology and the likes. As well as this, presume somewhere as tropical as Gran Pulse suffers from winter… because well yeah. It just makes things easier that's all._

_Lastly, please don't kill me for not updating Components or Cloak & Dagger, I'm just gathering my thoughts on the two that's all!_

* * *

><p>If someone told Fang that she was going to be one of the two remaining Oerbans, or even <em>known<em> living members of Pulse, she would have laughed in their face and told them where to go. If that same person told her that she would one day meet, and become companions with Cocoon Vipers, she would threaten to lance that person in the face. Therefore the very thought of becoming _infatuated _with one, was simply obscure.

The former l'Cie leaned back in her seat, regarding the rest of the cluttered table, having just helped to finish a large roasted bird. From across the table, Fang studied the object of her affection quietly, looking away often in case others grew suspicious.

This celebration of '_Christmas'_ or whatever Snow had called it, was unheard of to the Pulsian until the start of the month. Of all the people to ask, Fang had asked him, realising she would receive the most unbiased answer from him, that and maybe Sazh, but he was unavailable at the time.

'_It's a time of giving and sharing in the festive joy,' _He had said, highlighting the most important element, '_as well_ _being a pain in the arse for the need to buy loved ones presents, mind you.' _

Unsurprisingly, Vanille took to this newfound holiday slightly better than she did, rushing out to the shops to buy gifts almost immediately after learning about it. On the contrary, Fang had stayed indoors to ask Serah more about the subject, knowing she would hear nothing but praise on the subject, which she did. Naturally the topic of Lightning's dislike of the holiday season cropped up, and Fang wondered if the older Farron was ever happy.

The group, which consisted of all the l'Cie, and Sazh's son all declared their fill of turkey and stuffing, patting their stomachs and washing down the food with a drink of cider, wine and juice. Beside her, Vanille reached across the table for a cracker, tapping Fang on the forearm to alert her to the offering of the free end of the traditional Christmas piece.

"Come one Fang you're the only one who isn't wearing a hat!"

Frowning because that was simply untrue, Fang pointed towards Lightning who sat opposite Vanille. "She isn't wearing one."

However, Vanille gave her a look that said _'but you're not Lightning'_.

"Fine." She sighed, accepting the cracker and giving it a tug. She won the majority and pulled the purple festive hat out of the packaging.

"Hey Light," Fang called, gaining the attention of the soldier with ease, "you not gonna wear a hat?"

Lightning glanced around the room with a vacant expression, and then said simply, "I don't have a cracker."

A quick sweep of the table and Fang effortlessly found a spare, "Here we go."

Lightning placed her small glass of wine down to grasp the cracker, all the while staring at Fang as they each pulled their end. Fang won again, but she put that down to Lightning not putting much effort into the task.

"Aw, that looks lovely on you Claire, the red suits your hair colour well." Serah beamed at her sister's new adornment.

"Yeah it's great." Lightning droned, pushing the hat further up her head, where it refused to stay.

From the head of the table, Sazh stood up, cracking his knuckles and gesturing to the kitchen.

"I now declare it time for pudding!"

"As long as it's not an Ectopudding." Hope joked.

Vanille's chair scraped back as the redhead leapt up. "I'll help to clear up!"

"Me too!" Serah chirped, beginning to collect the plates on her side.

The absence of her sister allowed Fang to get a better look around the table, not that Vanille had been blocking her view; Hope was clutching a large pint glass filled to the brim with cider, his face flushed red. His father had allowed him the exception of one alcoholic drink for the special occasion, which he had been thoroughly excited about. Whilst Snow was quickly eating the remainder of his food before Serah took it away from him, despite objections.

Fang sighed contentedly, whatever this holiday was about, it was rather enjoyable.

After dinner, the group moved into Sazh's living room where they had all dropped off their presents to each other, which they had yet to open. Snow was first into the room, diving under the tree to retrieve the present he bought for Serah.

"I hope you like it! There's more at home but this was my favourite." He thrust the present into Serah's unsuspecting face, and the younger Farron took it as graciously as possible, rubbing her nose.

"Oh, Moogle pyjamas! Snow, they're lovely!"

Everyone else began to open their presents, including Fang, who was delighted to find her first gift from Sazh to be set of tribal necklaces, much like the ones she normally wore.

"So who's up for a nice Christmassy dvd?" Serah asked whiles wielding a few she had received for Christmas.

"Ooh, yeah! A nice romantic one." Vanille squealed, diving on the sofa.

"Oh no, come on!" Sazh pleaded, "Something with a little bit of action at least."

"Yeah, we're not all into hopeless, lovey-dovey romantic films." Fang moaned, seating herself beside Vanille.

Regardless of Fang and Sazh's protests, everyone settled down within ten minutes and Snow switched off the lights before cuddling into to Serah. Beside them, Sazh sat with Dajh on his knee, who was leaning back sleepily on his chest. Hope chose to sprawl out on the rug where there was more space.

"You gonna sit down sis?" Snow asked Lightning, who was leaning casually against the wall.

"I'm not your sister." She murmured sounding bored of her new recent catchphrase, and took the only space left beside Fang.

The huntress held her breath as Lightning took her seat, and instantly all Fang could think about was the sergeant's body heat, intermingling with her own through their festive jumpers. It was a strange feeling, to be so aware of someone's innocent contact, a feeling Fang wasn't quite used to when it came to Lightning.

She looked over to the tree to distract herself, noticing a pile of forgotten gifts still under the branches, all addressed to Lightning, as Fang recognised her own gift lying there.

_What's the matter with her? Even I opened my presents._

Unsurprisingly, halfway into the movie Fang had already grown bored, choosing instead to play with the hem of the blanket that Vanille had scattered over the female trio to keep warm. The redhead to her right had progressively started to fall asleep and lean her head upon Fang, which she didn't mind at all. In fact, it meant the huntress was a lot warmer.

She gave Lightning a small nudge, glad to see that the soldier seemed just as bored as she did.

"Care to join in?" Fang whispered, shifting her arm to invite Lightning to snuggle in. As expected of the stoic woman, she declined with a stiff shake of the head, but Fang wasn't going to take no for an answer.

From her peripheral vision, Fang admired the blue hue upon Lightning's skin from the television glare and the purple glow it added to her fair, pink hair.

"You're staring." Lightning murmured quietly, eyes never leaving the screen in front.

Fang's head twitched away from the soldier's face in surprise, "No I'm not."

"You're up to something." The soldier said quietly and left it at that.

Lightning was certainly assertive, even when relaxing, but Fang was happy to prove the fair-skinned beauty's theory right. Pulling out the oldest trick in the book and stretching her arm upwards and around the soldier's shoulder, Fang forced the soldier into the crook of her arm.

Although she didn't expect the soldier to go along with it and instantly relax into to her _friendly_ embrace, she didn't expect the soldier to remain stiff and elbow her under the blankets.

"Unf."

The breath escaped her before she had time to stop herself, causing Serah to look suspiciously over at them from her place in Snow's arms. Lightning continued to look cool and unperturbed, as if nothing had happened, despite Fang's arm positioned awkwardly between them.

The younger Farron looked back away and Fang continued her pestering of the soldier, walking her fingers up Lightning's shoulder obviously, to try again. Within the darkness of the room, Fang was unable to see a faint blush creeping over Light's face, but she was aware that the heat emanating from the soldier had increased tenfold.

_Good_, so she was having an effect on the woman, whether it meant anything or not, the Pulsian enjoyed the reaction to her playful antics.

Her hand had been resting on the other woman's shoulder for just a fraction of a second when the soldier leapt up from her seat, flinging the covers from her knees and into Fang's face, startling everyone in the process.

"I need some air." Lightning declared.

Serah watched her sister leave before frowning towards Fang, who sheepishly removed the blanket from her face and pretended to look innocent. Vanille stirred in her sleep leaving Fang torn between letting the girl sleep on her or simply putting her to bed.

It had been requested by Sazh that the crew were to sleep over in order to keep both of the Katzroy boys company. Sazh blamed the death of his wife on the quietness of his home and insisted that the extra company would keep Dajh happy.

_'The only thing is I don't have beds on tap. There's one double bed to sleep in and a free bed in Dajh's room because he's with me tonight. You guys can fight between yourselves.'_

After the film had finished, Fang moved to scoop up Vanille and place her into bed, when the girl promptly woke up with a jolt.

"Oh! Did I miss the ending?" She yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You missed more than the ending, sleepyhead," Sazh laughed, "now how about some board games?"

"Lightning isn't back from taking a breather yet, and that was… over an hour ago." Hope pointed out.

Everyone exchanged looks of guilt that they hadn't noticed. Naturally, Lightning's departure had been sitting at the back of Fang's mind as she continued to watch the film as she missed the soldier's presence and warmth.

"Hmph! What a Scrooge! She had better be in the kitchen." Serah stormed off to find her sister.

"What's a Scrooge?" Vanille asked Fang, who shrugged.

"Hell do I know, must be another Cocoon thing." She said before following Serah out of the door, wanting nothing more to check up on her soldier.

* * *

><p>Serah stepped into the spacious kitchen ahead of Fang, who with regret, pulled back and waited in the hallway once she saw Lightning's brooding expression. She knew the importance of a sisterly chat, as she and Vanille often did. Fang watched through the crack in the doorway as Serah pulled up a chair to join Lightning in her one-man party. Even from the hallway, Fang's hunter instinct sensed a dark aura from the older Farron.<p>

"What's gotten into you?" She asked softly, placing a hand upon Light's wrist. The soldier didn't seem to like the contact.

"Nothing, like I said earlier, I just needed to get out of the hot, stuffy room."

Serah sighed as Lightning pulled away from her. "You haven't even opened your presents from everyone yet."

"I know."

Fang's throat tightened at Lightning's uncaring, almost sad tone.

"We're playing board games soon so once you've… cooled down, feel free to join us."

"Or we could play a few drinking games instead." Fang offered from the doorway, choosing then to appear as self-appointed mood-lightener. Serah had her opportunity to coax Lightning's problems to the surface, but clearly her lips were sealed.

"Ooh, do you know any, Fang?" Serah asked hopefully, looking appreciative of Fang's help.

"Yeah, fetch a few glasses and we can start off easy."  
>The younger Farron scrambled for empty glasses, much to Lightning's surprise as her head shot up instantly. The older woman watched as Serah opened every cupboard in her search for suitable utensils; causing Lightning to stand hastily, close each of the cupboard doors that Serah had carelessly left open and sigh audibly.<p>

"Serah, you're not playing a drinking game. With Fang of all people."

She had not expected Lightning to speak up like that, but hearing the words fall from her mouth caused the dark-haired huntress to laugh and cross her arms defiantly.

"And why's that? She's old enough. Come on, Light you need to loosen up a little. I'll ask everyone else if they wanna play."

"Hope's not old enough and Dajh is still awake, Fang."

"Then we adults can play in here, while Hope and Dajh play board games."

Lightning rose to her feet, fingers resting on the oak table, icy eyes burning into Fang's as if attempting to project lasers. Fang shook her head disbelievingly. Lightning definitely did not own any of this 'Holiday Spirit' that her sister Serah constantly spoke about. It surprised Fang greatly at times like this, on just how contrasting the two sisters were, although their eyes were the same crystalline blue, the older Farron's eyes contained ninety-nine percent more hostility in them.

Serah's squeal of joy broke the slight tension and two more glasses were placed on the table. Fang sat down across from Lightning, who remained standing but took a swig of her own drink.

_I've probably set her off acting like this by messing with her before._

"I take it you're not gonna join, so how about we all enjoy a drink and we can do something you wanna do, does that sound good to you?"

"Anything?" Her voice didn't as much perk up but highlight an underlying devilish tone within.

"Anything." Fang smirked, mentally adding _'like if you suggested putting that double bed to some good uses, I'd be up for it._'

Fang watched as Lightning's slender fingers traced the outline of her glass over and over again as she thought. When her fingers stopped moving, Fang understood that she had come to an answer.

"We spar."

"Spar?" Fang's eyebrows rose, pleasantly surprised. "That's a good idea, hand to hand I'm guessing?"

"Claire!"

Ignoring the calls of her sister, Lightning nodded to an open kitchen cupboard, filled with cleaning supplies.

"We could use broom handles and do it in the garage." Lightning suggested.

With that, Fang burst out laughing, slamming her palm forcefully on the table as she did so; the mental image of replacing her lance with a mop was too much. The whiskey in Light's glass must have taken effect, as this was the l'Cie leader she knew and loved, despite the seriousness still apparent in her tone.

An idea struck Fang, perhaps harder than any blow she ever received from Lightning, even including their first meeting. What if they combined a drinking game _with_ sparring? Lightning couldn't possibly say no!

"You're on, but why don't we make it a little more interesting?" Fang asked, watching this time as Lightning tapped her nails against the glass instead, which was fairly distracting.

"We spar, but loser of each round has to drink a nasty cocktail of drinks… which Serah can make."

Lightning's following smirk caused Fang's heart to leap almost into her throat, just by the sheer beauty of her face.

"Is that a yes?"

Lightning didn't respond in the typical way, wasting no time in downing her drink. If the whiskey had a burn to it, she showed no signs of weakness as the liquid slid down her throat.

Fang mirrored her actions and followed her into the garage, which unlike the rest of the house was freezing cold. Clouds of breath followed their every exhale and Fang's wild hair stood even more on end. Taking the situation seriously, Lightning stretched the muscles in her left leg, holding it for ten seconds before changing to her right leg.

Fang was transfixed on the soldier's body as she relived the same stretching exercises that Lightning used to practice in the wilderness of Gran Pulse. When the pink haired beauty propped her leg upon Sazh's workbench to stretch further, Fang didn't hesitate to follow the length of Light's leg. She was clad in black shorts and grey woollen tights that highlighted the curve of her rear, whilst reminding Fang what the shape of her luscious legs looked like.

On the other hand, Fang's preparation was simply a crack of her knuckles.

It took another five minutes of drawn out waiting until Lightning was ready, yet for all it was worth, Fang could have watched her for hours. Did Lightning know she was this gorgeous?

"Are you ready?"

Fang mentally slapped herself and forced her drooling mouth closed. If Serah had been in the room, the Oerban would have been mortified for the girl at the very obvious display of her desire but she was sure Lightning hadn't noticed.

They both readied themselves to their individual battle stances; Fang preferred to be low, like a crouching panther, whilst Lightning always favoured being light on her toes.

"Three," Serah's voice cut in from the doorway, her tiny hands burdened by a tray of impressively coloured and downright disgusting looking drinks, "Two."

Deep breath, Fang.

"One."

Serah had barely finished the word when Lightning leapt forward with a right hook. Fang only just had time to block, crossing her arms in front of her face protectively. Her wrists took the blow, then moved swiftly downwards to block Lightning's oncoming left hook.

"Calm down, Light. This is a spar."

Fang's hands met the concrete floor as she twisted her body three-sixty, sweeping her taut leg out to knock Lightning off of her feet, the soldier jumped back easily but Fang wouldn't let her land before charging at her.

Usually their spars would consist of grappling moves only, but if the sergeant wanted it a bit rougher, well, she would get it.

Fang's charge was reminiscent of a Behemoth on a rampage, sending Light crashing back first into the wall with a grunt; one of the many homemade shelves rattled, sending paint cans toppling over the couple.

Fang was shoved away during the distracting commotion and she stumbled back, stepping on one of the tins of paint and fell unceremoniously upon her back in a move unfitting of a proud member of the Yun clan.

If her ancestors were watching her now, they'd either be howling at her slip up, or shaking their heads at her demise.

A boot pressed itself somewhat gently to her throat and to say that Lightning looked pleased would be an understatement.

She was allowed to sit up, as Serah passed the huntress a tall glass containing a questionable murky brown, dirty dishwater like drink. It tasted both strong and sweet and upon licking her lips; Fang could pick out vodka and wine.

"What's with the colour of it? And what are these little floaty bits? The texture is awful!" Fang spluttered.

Lightning silenced any more questions by tipping the glass towards Fang's mouth more, her lips pouting as she aided Fang in her drinking.

"Just down it, Fang."

Serah giggled, counting on her fingers as Fang took large gulps with disdain.

"Well it's got cola, pepper, cider, wine, vodka and strawberry milkshake – that's the little white bits you can see and feel."

Fang hacked at the texture of the drink sloshing down her throat, as laughter played on her drenched lips. Lightning still kept control of the glass, her fine eyebrows rose slightly as she tilted it upwards more, her mouth gradually opening in an expression not unlike when a parent feeding their baby. After what seemed an eternity, the nasty concoction was finally finished.

Lightning stood up slowly to take her place at the opposite side of the garage, picking up a wooden-handled broom as she did so.

Fang scrambled to her own end, choosing a mop as her weapon of choice, as Fang decided that Light's humiliation would come from being slapped in a face with a semi-wet mop.

Serah began to count down once more, however both women wasted no time with pointless battle stances. Just as she would her lance, Fang twirled the mop handle overhead, spinning it down her left side, before changing to her right.

Regretfully, Fang realised that she had not used her lance in a long time, as her recent busy schedule did not allow for hobbies.

"Gonna wipe that stupid ass smirk off your face literally, Light." Fang teased, brandishing the mop end towards the soldier.

Lightning moved first, holding the broom like she would her gunblade, however this weapon was thankfully blunted. Fang remembered only too well the burning feeling of steel slicing through her brand arm during one of their many spars.

A block, a parry and the huntress felt back in her element. Sure, they weren't as fast or as strong as they were in their l'Cie days, but under the circumstances they were in a year ago, it was understandably needed.

Lightning arced the stick upwards, slicing the air noisily past Fang's face. The wind it created sent a chill down the right side of Fang's cheek, it certainly would have hurt had it hit her.

It was clear to Fang that she was at a disadvantage, as the length of the mop handle was nowhere near the length of her spear, but it would have to do. Nevertheless, the minor draw back did not stop Fang from placing a hard strike on Lightning's thigh, drawing a hissing breath from the soldier.

Knowing all too well that Lightning's speed was far superior to her own due to her lighter form, Fang's tactics turned to slowing the soldier down, aim for her legs and slow her down with pain.

She felt motivated to win this round just to see her blue-eyed beauty chug a revolting drink, to watch her unwind and enjoy this 'Christmas' a bit more would surely make her evening.

And to get to that point, she would just have to wear her down with sparring, by the looks of it.

"Stuck for ideas?" Lightning roared, commenting on Fang's decision to reprise her sentinel role and take everything Lightning offered.

"Attack, for goodness sake!"

Twisting her weapon almost hypnotically, Lightning displayed to Fang the extent of her athletic, almost theatrical prowess, only to have her hit deflected to Fang's own surprise. Fang felt as though any block she made was down to sheer luck as he own moves became clumsy in her attempt to parry.

Between her thoughts of Sergeant Farron and trying to avoid a solid hit to the face with a broomstick, Fang noticed with a mild pleasure at Lightning's growing impatience with their fight.

"Serah, this next drink's gotta be a good'un," Fang twirled her makeshift lance overhead, "coz this one here is gonna be drinking it!"

Twirling like a dancer to the left, Fang leapt in the air with as much force as she could muster, bringing down the mop handle hard. As Lightning held her own weapon with both hands to block, a resounding _crack _echoed through the room as Fang snapped Lightning's weapon in half.

Lightning's face was a picture of shock and somewhere behind Fang, Serah gasped, also giggling out _'Whoa ho!' _as if the two were going to get in trouble for causing a mess and breaking things.

Lightning stumbled back with the two halves of the cleaning utensil; from the look on her face the impact had caused some pain in her wrists. Using the mop end of her weapon, Fang made the finishing blows to Light's stomach, before forcing it upwards to uppercut her.

Stabbing the mop at the ground with victory, Fang stood back to watch Lightning flush red with embarrassment, wiping wet residue from her chin.

"Eurgh."

Fang and Serah shared a laugh as Lightning stepped towards the drinks tray.

"This one's yours." Serah giggled behind her hand, offering an opaque green drink to her sister, whose pride was now as hurt as her body.

Lightning snatched it away, eyeing it distastefully before taking an experimental sip, which resulted in the pink-haired woman poking his tongue out in disgust. Fang's heart swelled up in her chest at the sight of her face, which was the cutest expression Lightning had pulled to date. Fang smiled.

The soldier chose to look at her at that point and the huntress looked away, coughing nervously. She was acting like such a schoolchild! Had it been any other person, Fang might've been able to hold the stare, but right now those icy eyes were just too much.

Lightning took a little longer than Fang did to drink her forfeit, which she put down to her lesser practice in drinking.

"Heeeeeey! What's the hell's all this?" Sazh bellowed from the doorway that separated the kitchen and the garage.

With his hands placed almost comically at either side of his head, Sazh gawped at the tins of paint – which thankfully hadn't opened – scattered across the floor carelessly. He stared disbelievingly at the shards of a broom in Lightning's left hand, shaking his head as if he expected more from the l'Cie leader.

"Er…" Was all Lightning could offer, watching Serah slip past the older man with an unused drink still in her hands.

"Ignore what you see here, old man." Fang said, waving off the mess with her hand. Grasping Lightning by her tense shoulders, she guided them back into the living room.

"Gosh, Fang where've you been! We had to start the games without you!" Vanille whined, brandishing a set of dice. Hope also looked like he was playing between acting like a chocobo to Dajh's amusement, who was sat on his back, the baby chocobo hopping happily on Dajh's shoulder in kind.

From the sofa Snow sighed, looking bored of the board game that he wasn't playing and Fang certainly felt sorry for him.

"You look tired, big guy." Sazh observed. "Why not have an early night tonight?"

A well-timed yawn followed from the blonde brawler, who nodded in defeat.

"Actually," Serah chimed in, "I'm feeling pretty tired too…"

Fang instantly knew where this was going and as if someone had just flipped an on switch, Lightning went straight into protective sister mode.

"If you're suggesting that you're going to share a bed with – _him _– you have another thing coming!"

Her fists balled and she began to roll up the sleeves of her sweater and suddenly the atmosphere in the room turned tense.

"Now come on si- Lightning, it's Christmas! Let's not fight." Snow said calmly.

"Shut your face."

Serah rushed in front of Snow the second Lightning's fist raised and Sazh raced to grab Lightning's wrist. He didn't manage to keep hold for long as Lightning struggled her way out of his grip and shoved him aside.

"Hey, hey! Soldier girl, no violence."

"Obviously we didn't spar enough before." Fang joked, watching the soldier's eyes flare in her direction for a short while, before returning to Snow and Serah.

"Listen, Claire." Serah pleaded, grabbing her sister lovingly by the forearms, "whether you like it or not, he's my boyfriend."

Lightning flinched at the word 'boyfriend' and took a slow step back, her fist still quivering.

"You're not sleeping in the same bed as him, Serah."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am, Claire. Stop acting like my parent, because you're not, you're my supportive sister who needs to accept the fact I'm not a little kid anymore!"

Serah leapt forward and gave Lightning a squeeze, before exiting with Snow in tow, who wished everyone a good night before exiting. Wisely, his eyes avoided Lightning's as he passed.

The tension that was left in the room, Fang was sure she could cut with her lance, had she brought it. Standing to attention, Hope retrieved his phone from his pocket.

"I'll… call my dad to pick me up now."

"Pick you up?" Vanille frowned. "But you live far away!"

Hope smiled faintly.

"I know but he's here in New Bodhum on business, he's staying at a hotel nearby, so I'll just be sleeping there."

"You sure? I mean you're welcome to stay." Sazh said, patting the silver-haired boy on the back for reassurance.

"No, I'm sure. But thanks for having me over."

* * *

><p>Hope wasn't picked up until almost midnight; during which Dajh had been put to bed by his doting father. The three remaining females sat in silence, staring at the television – which had been turned off – out of habit. When Sazh returned, his own festive jumper had been replaced by blue striped pyjamas and a dressing gown.<p>

"I hate to be the boring old timer, but I'm pretty damn tired myself, so feel free to make yourself at home and all that, you know where the fridge is."

"I'm pretty tired too actually." Vanille yawned, moving to the hallway to grab her own change of clothes.

Fang thanked Lady Luck herself that she was left with her favourite Cocoon native.

Fang chuckled.

"What is it this time?" Lightning sighed.

"We've been left without beds."

Lightning contemplated the sentence, switching between looking at Fang and out into the hallway.

"Sofas it is. I'll grab some blankets."

Fang sank down into the seat behind her, watching the woman leave the room with a tempting sway of her hips. When Lightning returned, Fang prayed her half-lidded eyes were mistaken for sleepiness and not admiration.

They each sat on their respective sofa, with Fang sitting on the one Serah, Snow and Sazh had been using earlier. Without anything to say, the two were left in an awkward silence, and although Fang didn't want to blame Lightning for causing such as atmosphere to begin with, she did.

"You, er… had a nice day then?" Fang tried pathetically.

Lightning leaned her head back to rest against the sofa. "Yeah, minus what happened earlier, it's definitely been one of my better Christmases."

"It doesn't sound like it has been, I mean you still sound pretty sad about this whole affair."

Lightning laughed, although it sounded more like a small huff.

"I'm just not a fan of Christmas, but believe me, it… hasn't been bad this year."

"So when are you gonna open your presents?"

Lightning's head reluctantly moved towards her forgotten gifts under the tree, but Fang wasn't sure if that was because she hadn't bought gifts for anyone herself. The Oerban watched as Lightning took a deep breath, bracing herself to meet the cold air from he place under the blankets.

The soldier took a long time to choose a present to open, which Fang put down to Lightning wanting to open the gift she had gotten for her, out of courtesy. This she didn't mind at all, as it meant Fang could appreciate Lightning from behind once again, loving the fact her pyjamas bottoms were patterned with roses. It reminded Fang of their Eidolon crystals and more specifically, Lightning's.

Lightning returned to her makeshift bed, cradling the small package in her hand, as if holding raindrops. Fang was right in that Lightning had been looking for her gift she had gotten her.

Eyes never straying, Lightning picked at the packaging and nipped at the ribbons that Fang chose to include. Her cheeks felt ablaze when Lightning picked out several different coloured, fine bracelets.

"It's er, the same bracelets me and Vanille wear-"

Her voice was soft, "Yeah... I know."

Although her face was straight when she said it, Lightning's voice betrayed her emotion, with a peculiar softness in her tone that Fang had never heard before. Had it not been for the strands of hair covering her eyes, Fang was pretty damn sure her eyes would have told a tale as well.

"Thought you deserved some too, y'know? The three of us worked pretty good together in battle." Fang awkwardly rattled on, rubbing the back of her neck, embarrassed.

Lightning placed the bracelets on her small wrist and admired each separate piece by tracing the metal with her finger.

"Thank you."

Fang's heart skipped a beat yet again that night, and she couldn't help but give in to the smile tugging at her lips.

"Ahh, it's nothin' really."

The two women snuggled further into their respective covers, until Fang grew bored of the silence and reached back lazily, she was about to withdraw back under the warmth when her fingernails tapped against a glass cabinet behind her.

"Hmm?" Fang said, sounding almost if she were in a daze. "Ah."

Her peculiar noises must've alerted Lightning as the sofa moaned under her movement, meaning her next few moves of rummaging through the cabinet had to be graceful as possible to draw as much attention to her elegance. Except instead, bottles tipped and clattered, chiming throughout the room noisily.

_Oh yeah, smoothly does it, Fang._

Her restless fingers settled on a fat bottle with a thin neck. She had just discovered her favourite brand of flavoured vodka shots.

"Care for a round three?" Fang smirked, shaking the three-quarter full bottle with glee.

Silence, and then…

"Why not?"

Lightning rose from her seat, taking blankets and all with her, forcing Fang to shift over to give her some room. As Lightning tried to get comfortable, Fang began to unscrew the lid, clumsily pouring the liquid into her mouth, for the lack of shot glasses present.

The drink was sweet, with a vodka kick that only hit Fang's tongue once she'd swallowed.

Offering the bottle with a cheeky wink, Fang watched Lightning with nothing less than high regard as she took a swig.

"Gah! That's sweet." Fang chuckled at her reaction, taking the bottle back to take another drink. "Cherry. Not bad."

They exchanged the bottle between one another until there was only enough for one mouthful. Wanting to display her chivalry, Fang offered the last drops to the solider, who took it with a shrug.

"So… what's your favourite colour?" Fang asked, once again walking her fingers up the sergeant's bared arm, feeling nothing but satisfaction when her trail left Lightning shivering.

Obviously the alcohol had lowered her defences, but not by much, as Fang received another elbow to the side, although softer than earlier.

"Teal." Lightning muttered, pulling the covers up to her chin to halt Fang's annoying touches. "But that's a random thing to ask."

"Ah you know, just trying to know you better… you're very reserved." She brushed some hair away from Lightning's face, to which the soldier responded with an awkward twitch of her head. "And terrible with physical contact."

Head tilting lazily back, Lightning exhaled softly, displaying how tired she was feeling.

"I know I'm not… good with… people." She yawned.

Lightning in a sleepy state was not something Fang could remember from their days trawling around Gran Pulse. As the self-appointed leader, she was always last to sleep and first to rise, which Fang found impossible to keep up with. But here she was, slightly intoxicated, sleepy and sitting by Fang. In a last attempt to get what she wanted from the soldier, Fang shuffled closer.

"Well, y'know how you didn't get anyone presents?"

A flash of regret.

"Mm."

"I think I'd like my gift from you to be a nice cuddle."

Lightning's head tilted to look at Fang sceptically through half-closed eyes, without another word she shuffled closer to Fang's shoulder, lips drawing closer to Fang's burning ear. Fang involuntarily shuddered.

"No." Lightning giggled.

Lightning _giggled._

And it almost made up for the rejection of a cuddle. Despite the refusal for the hug, Lightning didn't move from her seat by Fang, choosing instead to rest her head on the opposite arm of the sofa.

"And just because I'm going to sleep," She muttered with her eyes closed, "it doesn't mean you can stare at me."

Fang's breath hitched uncomfortably in her throat, and regardless of Lightning's comment she stared at her in disbelief. Was her staring really that obvious? Or was that a comment meant to wind her up?

Either way, Lightning's hot breath still tickled her ear, her fingers tingled and her heartbeat doubled, no, tripled.

"What? Not even a yes to spooning?" Fang pouted in the darkness, believing Lightning to be sound asleep.

Fang lay back against the opposite arm of the sofa, not quite lying down, but not quite sitting up either. Against Lightning's wishes, Fang stared anyway, because admiring her porcelain frame was the next best thing from touching it.

It was discomforting being so close to Lightning, yet knowing that she would never be closer. She felt empty, like her stomach was in fact where her throat should be, leaving her feeling hollow and unable to swallow. Had she been a weaker being, she would have shed a tear.

It would be a lie to say that had thought about giving up on the solider, as any moves she'd made in the past were met with rejection. However, the huntress knew that it was always her Lightning looked to for comfort - an awkward hug instigated by Fang and joyful whisperings the day of her reawakening from Cocoon's crystal base told her that.

_Ah, but I have the rest of my life to figure this one out._

The fact she was still twenty-one – physically – even proved that Lady Luck was on her side.

Pleased to be even sharing a seat with Lightning, Fang renewed her thoughts of this _fairly _close contact as a blessing, finally resting her head upon the pillow wedged between her and the sofa.

* * *

><p>Jolting awake, Fang instantly switched between clutching at her heated forehead and cheeks. Her train of thought from the night had lead to her shamefully dreaming about her ex-l'Cie leader, and it wasn't innocent. She'd started off lying where she was now, yet her dream-self was unaware of her previous feelings of rejection. Starting from the soldier's feet, she'd trailed kisses up her toned leg, caressing the other as not to neglect, before lazily licking her way up to Lightning's lips from her stomach upwards. Her hand daringly tested the elastic waistband of rose patterned pyjamas, before slipping their way between Lightning's ready thighs.<p>

Upon remembering, a wave of fresh arousal flooded through her, causing Fang to dig her nails deeply into the flesh of her leg where her hand was resting, surprising herself only when she didn't feel the biting of her nails. Instead, her resting companion jumped miles high into the air.

A laugh escaped Fang's lips before she could fully comprehend what she'd done.

"Sorry, Light. I thought that was my leg." Fang explained as the Cocoon native ripped the covers over their bodies to inspect the damage.

Her pyjamas had ridden up her calf, allowing both women to see the pattern of five crescent shaped nail marks that trailed like footsteps in the sand up Lightning's leg. The marks were an ugly red blemish against her naturally pale and ever so lovely skin, as was the crease forming between her brows as she gradually woke up with irritation to start her day.

"I don't care if it was meant to be your leg or not, what were you trying to achieve by digging your nails in so hard?"

_I was trying to achieve a bloody clear head._

"I was pinching myself to see if I was awake," Fang retorted more harshly than she intended, "and goin' by the rule book… since I didn't feel anything I'm therefore still dreamin' so g'night."

"That makes no sense, Fang."

Instead of flopping back down and pretending to sleep again, Fang threw her covers over Lightning's fuming head, drowning her in darkness. Judging from the muted sigh of defeat from under the blanket, Fang guessed she had just gotten away with the little accident.

Close call.

Whatever time is was, it was surely time for a hot coffee.

* * *

><p>"Gooooood mooooorning!" Vanille sang as she entered the bright kitchen. Fang's back faced the table that everyone had gathered around, each holding an assorted mug of the golden liquid. The smell of coffee wafting throughout the sleepy household had alerted everyone to the fact it was a new day, or <em>Boxing Day<em>, as Fang remembered Serah mentioning.

"Morning, little lady!" Sazh greeted from the head of the table, which was followed by less enthusiastic chorus from Fang and the others. As Fang grabbed another mug, the chairs behind her scraped clockwise around the table to accommodate the extra person. The kettle clicked, signalling the end of it boiling, and Fang welcomed the hot steam pouring skywards with a cold hand, which she hovered over the spout.

Gran Pulse was always a land of extremes: extreme monsters, extreme climates and extremely cool people such as Vanille and herself. Yes, the Cocoon side of the l'Cie party brushed off the fact that somewhere as tropical as Gran Pulse could suffer from the wildest of winters. Until they experienced it firsthand, of course.

Finished stirring the milk and three sugars, Fang handed the hot drink to Vanille, who, much to everyone else's annoyance, disregarded the space made for her at the table to leap on the counter next to her.

"So guys," Snow spoke, sensing Vanille being glared at from Lightning's side of the table, "what's on the agenda today? I reckon a good snowball fight would be fun later."

"Yeah! And perhaps Vanille and I could bake cakes and brownies and oh… that is if it's okay with you Sazh?" Serah asked. Her eyes, though the same striking icy blue as her sister, were strangely more heart warming and welcoming. And persuading.

So much bloody difference between the two.

"-man competition!"

"Yeah, that'll be fun!" Vanille cheered.

"Wait what're we doing?" Fang frowned, torn from her deep thoughts of comparison.

From her left, Vanille prodded invasively at Fang's temple, telling her to listen harder. "A snowman building competition, Fang. Stay alert."

"Sounds good… only if Light plays." Fang smirked over her own warm coffee. She grasped the mug a little tighter when the soldier's eyes flicked up in a fierce, heart-stopping stare.

"If it means I get to make one that looks like Snow, then knock it's block off, then I'm in."

The group laughed once at the thought, then twice at Snow's delayed reaction of mock hurt. As the party began to file out of the kitchen to get ready, Snow shook his head disbelievingly, placing his bear-like hands upon Serah's tiny shoulders.

"Sis is still out to get me." He whispered out of earshot to Lightning, to which Serah responded by lightly grasping his hand affectionately in a way that made Fang smile inwardly.

"Just be thankful that it'll be the snowman on the receiving end of her punches."

* * *

><p>After a speedy change into warmer attire than she was used to, Fang emerged from the house and into the crisp outdoors, tugging at the blue woollen scarf Serah had bought for her as a present. It wasn't that she was ungrateful for the gift, but the huntress wasn't used to such a constraint around her neck, with the exception of Lightning's hands when she pissed her off occasionally.<p>

The winters of Gran Pulse were harsher than she remembered; although it had been well over five hundred years now since she'd last witnessed one. Her warmer clothes were not traditional-looking like her sari, nor did they shout about her uniqueness as a Pulsian. Within her mind, Fang could've complained about most of the things she was currently wearing, which was until a ball of intrusive snow hit her face.

The stinging sensation was instant, freezing the right side of her face so that one side appeared as dumbstruck as some of Snow's expressions.

"Who the bloody fuck was that?" She half-laughed, wiping the substance from her face.

"Language, missy!" Sazh hissed, pointing to his son who had taken interest in the new word.

After a quick apology, Fang scanned the area for a guilty face, bending low to scoop up a missile of her own to throw. Lightning wasn't out of the house yet and, glancing to her left, Vanille was too occupied in rolling snow by the corner of the house.

However a light, innocent giggle sounded Snow's direction, which by Fang's reckoning, could never belong to such a hefty man as him.

"What you planning on doing with that snowball, Fang?" Snow laughed, concealing Serah behind his back.

Carefully inching forward, Fang tossed the snowball up into the air before catching it again in her palm, "Hidin' her won't stop me, big guy!" Fang warned with a devilish smile.

Aiming well and true, Fang's grip on the snowball loosened and, watching with glee, the snowball pelted Snow firmly in the neck. Snow choked, rolling off to the side wounded, to reveal her attacker.

Taking cautious steps back, Serah gave Fang one of her innocent stares, "You know you don't want to get me back…"

"Oh, but I do! There's no one to protect you now!"

A new voice joined the conversation.

"Think again."

The euphoric sound of whistling reached her ears from behind, the next feeling sending shivers down her spine as if someone had poured snow down her back. Seconds later, Fang realised she _had _gotten snow down her back as it seeped through her sweater and into her skin.

Turning sharply, Fang's vision was cut off prematurely as another wad of snow smashed her in the face. The culprit was certainly going to get their face scrubbed with the dirtiest snow she could find.

"You got it in my bloody ear!" Fang shuddered, wasting no time on grabbing ammunition. There was only one person who would dare to hit her twice.

The huntress ducked low, sensing a snowball glide through the air towards her from Snow – which missed - and sprang forward towards Lightning, who ran left, close to where Vanille was playing.

The tail of Lightning's crimson scarf danced behind the soldier as Fang pursued the woman. The item brought a nostalgic feeling to Fang, whose thoughts quickly flickered to imagine Lightning running ahead in Palumpolum, cape flapping in the wind.

Fang continued to chase the other woman until it was clear that Lightning had the speed advantage and soon after pausing for breath, Lightning ensured a fair distance between them before stopping also.

Fang bent low, scooping snow into her palms whilst keeping light on her toes in case of another attack by her so called '_friends_'. She compressed the snow until she was happy that it would travel a fair distance and wouldn't fall apart mid-flight, before judging how far she'd need to throw it to hit Lightning.

"If you think I'm going to take my eyes off you for a second, then think again." Lightning warned from across the snow-covered yard. The soldier's keen eyes watched her like a predator, hungry and almost unblinkingly. Except Fang knew, that _she_ was the only predator here.

At the back of her mind, Fang knew that with Light watching, she was not going to succeed in a direct hit, therefore when Sazh sneaked up from behind to grab the sergeant by the arms, Fang rejoiced loudly.

"What the- get off!"

"Hurry up! Or she'll get out and break these old bones!" Sazh panted, heaving Lightning's arms back further so he could provide Fang more time.

Wasting no time, Fang jogged up to Lightning, tossing the ball of snow up in the air as she closed in.

"Ooh Fang… I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Serah advised somewhere from the sidelines, but Fang knew exactly what she was getting herself in for.

The soldier's glare was as icy as the weather around them, her next words sounding equally as threatening as they did challenging. "You dare."

"Oh, _I dare_." Fang purred, and in one swift motion, the snow in her hand connected with Lightning's stunned face. For good measure, as well as for the payback she would receive later, Fang continued to scrub it into Lightning's scrunched up face.

Fang staggered back with laughter, admiring her work; the pissed off older Farron's face was caked in white, although the skin behind it was flushed as pink as her hair.

Unbeknownst to Fang, Sazh had long let go of Lightning who, after a quick recovery of composure, threw herself at Fang with a great force that knocked the remaining air from her lungs.

"Ooft!"

The landing was surprisingly hard, and unsurprisingly cold as her back met the chill of the blanketed ground. She opened her eyes with a squint to see Lightning kneeling over her; legs placed either side of her waist. At least she would die under such a pleasing sight, with Lightning's lips curling ever so slightly upwards at one corner.

And that was all she saw, as the woman towering over her relentlessly scooped, piled, shoved and dropped snow over Fang's entire face.

Between desperate coughs and the feeling of being suffocated, Fang attempted to subdue the attack by blindly feeling around for Light's wrists, but every time she managed to grab one, the wrist slipped free.

"Having fun?" Lightning asked from her perch on top of Fang.

Had the iciness not kept her breathing from being any more than shallow gasps, she would have nodded in affirmation, made a sarcastic quip and proceeded to keep Lightning on her as long as possible.

After another successful grab of a wrist, Fang used her free hand to wipe the snow from her face, although the water began to sting her eyes.

"Gah! Okay I get it, dear Etro." Fang coughed and spluttered, "You're killin' me."

Lightning sat back slightly as if to admire her work, finishing her assault by sprinkling powdery snow over Fang's face the same way she'd sprinkle salt into a boiling pan.

"Just getting you back." She shrugged.

"You started it!" Fang gawked.

"You dug your nails into me this morning."

Fang stuck her tongue out slightly, "Well that's what you get for denying me of a hug last night."

"Hey ladies, ladies, enough of the play fighting," Sazh cut in, "Dajh wants to build snowmen."

With a small harrumph and the tiniest of blushes, Fang was relieved of Lightning's weight and left lying on her own in the bed of snow.

* * *

><p>Joining Vanille in her snowman building, Fang watched contentedly from the sidelines as her little sister rolled a giant ball of snow across the lawn of Sazh's front garden.<p>

"You enjoyed that," Vanille said rather nonchalantly, "her straddling you like that."

Fang looked up slowly from drawing her name in Pulsian letters in the ground, "Excuse me?"

"Lightning on top of you… I said you_ enjoyed_ that."

Fang swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, "Be quiet, she might hear you."

Ignoring Fang's suggestion to lower her voice, Vanille continued to roll snow, "I thought as much. Now are you going to help me make this snowman? I want to win our little competition."

"Yeah if you promise to keep quiet, ya little minx."

"Deal, now you finish rolling this, I want that to be the bottom of the snowman."

Trudging over to where Vanille had finished half a job, Fang heaved the snow across the lawn, gathering more snow as she went. As she rolled, she glanced at the others and their attempts at building, chuckling as she watched a red-faced Snow lift a ton of his namesake to pile onto the base of his Serah's and Lightning's sculpture. To her left, Sazh and his son had yet to stack the snow they had rolled, but were making better progress than she and Vanille were.

After fifteen minutes of chipping away and smoothing the snowman to create a remotely human shape, Vanille offered to make everyone a hot drink to warm their hands, to which everyone agreed to with a thankful nod.

In the time it took for Vanille to plod her way indoors, Fang was overcome with the best idea on the whole of Gran Pulse. Not wanting to be seen, Fang snuck round the back of the house after Vanille, thankful that their own frozen creation was concealed behind the side of the house.

"Vanille!" Fang almost giggled, but Fang wasn't ever one for such a delicate, dainty noise, "I have the best idea… I bet this will win it for us."

* * *

><p>It took but a few persuasive words from her silver-tongued mouth for Fang to win Vanille over, and now she was watching with her most childish grin to date, as the redhead fished around in the arts and crafts box she received for Christmas.<p>

"Anything?" Fang asked impatiently, clutching a red bathroom towel in one hand whilst sifting through one of Sazh's cupboards.

"Yep! Got some pink wool here and some blue beads." Vanille replied with a swell of triumph forming in her chest.

"Excellent, let's go!"

The two exchanged their sisterly gesture of bumping their wrists together before exiting the room, clutching their equipment possessively.

Hot drinks long forgotten, they crept slowly and as quietly as possible towards their unfinished snowman, despite the loud crunching of fresh snow beneath their frozen feet.

"I'll place the finishing touches." Vanille insisted, humming as she unravelled the pink wool, cutting various lengths from the ball with scissors.

Fang nodded in response, "And I'll continue to… sculpt, I guess."

With gloved hands, Fang picked up two large handfuls of snow, slapping them roughly against the body of the snowman, before inspecting her accuracy. In no time at all, her swift hands had smoothed, chiselled and moulded a perfect body, whilst Vanille had created features that showed a resemblance to its original.

Taking a few steps back, both Fang and Vanille admired their work with a devilish glint in their eyes.

"You don't think adding boobs on that thing makes it too over the top? I mean, I think we should be more modest with the size…"

"You kidding?" Fang chuckled, "that's a damn accurate portrayal right there."

"She's gonna flip."

"The bigger the reaction the better." Fang shrugged.

Vanille sighed, "She's going to knock it down."

Patting Vanille on her hat-adorned head, Fang winked, "It may get destroyed in an instant, but the look on her face will leave a lasting impression, I bet."

A voice from the front of the house sounded, it was Serah.

"Oh, I thought you were both inside. You guys nearly done?"

Giggling, Vanille rushed around the corner, to peek around at the competition, "Yep! Are you?"

A chill crawled down her back like little paws as a blast of icy wind hit her tanned skin, which even looked pale in comparison to usual. Studying her hands from underneath the gloves, they had turned an unappealing reddish colour, burning from the cold.

As she turned the corner to view the competition, the sight of what looked to be a crooked chocobo with no legs greeted her eyes, with stones for eyes and evergreen branches for wings. It was a nice attempt for a small boy and his father, as well as original and both Vanille and herself nodded and laughed in approval of the creation. Eyes darting further right, she saw the Farron sisters stood somewhat proudly beside their own sculpture.

Vanille had approached the snowman first, rather tentatively, as the sculpture was rather intimidating to behold. With squared shoulders, the snowman was positioned with it's back against a snow-covered hedge, legs stretched out in front of it.

"One of its eyes has fallen off." Vanille observed, picking up the fallen stone to place it back onto the creation, when the entire thing shook and _sneezed._

"AH!"

Vanille leapt back in fright, throwing the stone 'eye' at the moving monster.

"What sort of snowman is this?" She whimpered as the rest of them laughed.

"It's a Snow snowman." The sculpture guffawed, standing up to wipe the remainder of the stuff from his body. "Jeez Lightning, I was really starting to suffocate under all that."

"Shame." Lightning clicked her tongue, although Fang could hear an ounce of humour in her tone.

With her arms outstretched as if to embrace the air, Fang called out to the rest of the group, "So… you guys wanna see _ours_?"

"Lemme guess, something to do with Gran Pulse?" Sazh asked, plodding over to the side of the house with Dajh in tow.

"Something to do with Oerba?" Serah chimed in, "I really want to go there some day."

Lightning shook her head, "It'll be linked to the both of them, but I bet it's Ragna…rok."

The group, minus Lightning, joined in a session of laughter at the snowman, which resembled their favourite soldier. Other than the angle of the hair due to the wind, Fang thought they had done an ample job of recreating a statuette of Lightning.

"Oh wow, you even got the cape." Snow said, circling the piece like an inspecting art critic. It was highly amusing to Fang that he was still encrusted with his white namesake, which he had not bothered to wipe off properly.

"Is that meant to be _me_? Lightning asked from the back sneeringly, stomping dangerously close to the sculpture.

"Yeah," Vanille grinned, her cheeks bright red in the cold "isn't it cool?"

"Get rid of it."

The sour tone placed Serah immediately into defensive mode and Fang found herself stepping forward in front of the snowman, between Vanille and Lightning.

"Come on now, it's just a bit of fun, Claire." Serah insisted.

"I don't like it. Get rid of it, please."

Fang shook her head with a grin, allowing snow to drift loosely from her hair and back to the ground.

"Nah, I fancy keeping it."

Really, Fang couldn't care less about the piece they'd made, because although it was fun, garnering a reaction from Light was even more fun.

"Don't you think it's accurate?" Fang nodded towards the snowman, "I mean look at the curve of that waist."

Her hand traced an outline of the sculpture, ignoring looks of uncertainty from the rest of the gang.

Lightning's fist clenched.

Snaking behind the figurine, Fang rested her chin on its 'shoulders', embracing the thing from behind.

"Lovely and cuddly too." She pressed further. "Unlike someone I know."

Serah grabbed for her sister's arm to pull her back as Fang cupped the bust of the snow-woman suggestively.

"And I even made these babies to scale! Hah!"

Fang dived headfirst into a snowy flowerbed before Lightning could reach her, as she became nothing but a pink blur. With a punch fit for a burly man, the soldier demolished her snowman counterpart until it was unrecognisable, hitting it mercilessly in the face first.

"Calm down soldier girl!" Sazh pleaded, his hands covering Dajh's small shoulders, "and you warrior girl, don't bait her!"

But Fang wasn't listening; as Lightning yanked her from the flowerbed she lay in and forced her to stand. The soldier's face was red, a mixture of her embarrassment and the temperature.

"Alright there, Light?" Fang smirked, receiving another wad of icy cold snow to her face.

It was only just the beginning…

* * *

><p><em>I'm a bit late with the Christmas theme but that's because it was Christmas when I started writing this. <em>

_And the first time I uploaded this, decided to take the breaks out, cheers for that! _

_Enjoy!_


	2. Chapter 2

_I was going to wait until I'd wrote a bit more, but this works out perfectly as a chapter by itself :)_

* * *

><p>"I still can't feel one side of my face." Fang complained as she followed Lightning indoors like a loyal puppy, in an attempt to make the soldier feel sorry for her.<p>

Lightning continued her trek upstairs, sparing a glance behind her to inspect the damage of Fang's face, scoffing when she saw no difference to the huntress's features.

"You've been through worse." She replied, stopping on the landing of the first floor, to where her bag of belongings lay.

Fang stopped at the doorway of the unoccupied bathroom, leaning casually upon the closed door. "Your lack of concern breaks my heart."

A sound not unlike a small laugh escaped Lightning's rosy lips, "Ragnarok has a heart?"

"Ooh harsh."

Fang watched as Lightning rifled through the bag almost violently, like a dog digging a hole to bury a bone, only stopping to pull out an opened letter.

"This isn't my bag…" Lightning trailed off in realisation.

From over Lightning's shoulder, Fang read the addressees of the letter to be Serah and Snow, yet the soldier disregarded the fact that looking at other people's mail is illegal to read the documents anyway.

The paper was crisp and official, with a logo Fang didn't yet recognise from her short time on what was a new Gran Pulse with Cocoon influences. For once in her life, Fang bit her tongue and simply watched Lightning's tense body language from the rigid shoulders to the tight two-handed grip on the letter.

Even if Fang could see the letter clearly, she realised she had grown too unaccustomed to the Cocoon alphabet to be able to take in much of it anyway.

The sound of more people entering the house downstairs caused Lightning to stir, stuffing the letter back in its envelope and into the confines of the bag. She grabbed the identical black holdall beside Serah's luggage and moved into Dajh's room to use the bed as a replacement table.

Naturally Fang followed her once more to the next doorway, keen to study the soldier whose reactions and emotions always differed when it came to her sister. This, Fang had always found interesting.

"Looks like Serah and Snow have found a place of their own to live." Lightning laughed painfully, her expression sullen, "I wasn't purposefully going through her stuff though… our bags look the same."

"You don't need to explain yourself…"

"No I know. But it's going to make me feel ten times better if I talk about it." Her bag was carelessly shoved to the floor, allowing Lightning to sit on the vacated space. "I feel empty already. All these years of looking after Serah and now she's flying the nest."

Fang stepped further into the room, closing the door after her to allow them some privacy.

"You've taken on the role of her guardian too long, Light. Sayin' things like '_Flyin' the nest'_ makes you sound more like her parent than her big sister, y'know."

"So I've been told." She said sullenly, referring to their small family argument the previous night.

Sighing, Fang took the empty space to the right of Lightning, surprised at the softness of Dajh's bed as she sank lower into the mattress.

"This," Fang said gesturing to Lightning's moody face, "isn't _you _okay? You're stronger and better than this, 'cause you of all people know that everybody grows up and leaves home eventually. Do you _really_ want Serah and Snow around when they get married? Like _all_ the time? I'd want some peace and quiet myself."

"You're right I'm just being stupid." Lightning said, finally smiling, however faint it was.

Taking a breath of relief, Lightning stood up and straightened out her clothes with a heavy hand. Turning to face Fang, she picked up the bag at their feet, muscles briefly straining with the weight pf the carrier.

"Going somewhere?" Fang cocked her head, the new perspective drawing her attention to the soldier's divine outline.

Slinging the bag over her shoulder so her elbow jutted out in front of her, Lightning nodded, eyes in the direction of Dajh's clouded window.

"I have some shopping to do." She said and left before Fang's face could even twist and contort with bewilderment.

The Oerban remained seated for a while by herself, content in listening to Lightning's hurried footsteps down the stairs and out the door, along with the chattering of excitable friends in the kitchen, brewing hot drinks. As she suspected, over the group's noise downstairs, the sound of the front door opening and closing with a slam went unnoticed to all but her.

* * *

><p>The fact that it had been well over three hours since Lightning had left made Fang grow increasingly suspicious. She wasn't at all worried for her well-being, afterall she had been through much difficult and life threatening obstacles than leaving the house for a few hours.<p>

But the thing about Lightning, Fang had realised instantly from first meeting her back on Cocoon, was that she wasn't a typical female.

Receiving a survival knife for her twenty-first birthday was a good example of this as although practical, it was a strange gift for someone born on Cocoon. Yes, Fang could see a knife as a _Pulsian _birthday gift being of use but not on the Vipers' Nest.

Apparently she wasn't the only one to think that Lightning's sudden urge for shopping was in character, as Serah described her sister's last attempt at shopping alone to be something of a disaster. Fang pressed further on why; not wanting to leave that story up to her favourite soldier, Fang urged the younger Farron for a response and eventually she explained that Lightning had a bit of a punch up with an admirer.

By now, everyone had long left Sazh's house and moved back to the Farron household, which over the months of Fang and Vanille's reawakening from crystal, had become their temporary home until they found a suitable place nearby.

Fang had inkling that Lightning had enjoyed the extra company of Snow, Vanille and herself more than she let on when they had all been under one roof. Well, perhaps less of Snow's company and more the companionship of people who she could have an intelligent conversation with when the soldier actually found herself in the mood for talking.

The difference between now and reawakening however, was that Fang and Vanille eventually moved out of the Farron home, unlike Snow, who had adopted the Oerban custom of sharing homes it seemed.

"She's not answering her phone!" Serah huffed, snapping her own phone closed almost as angrily as her sister would. The loud action startled the rest of the room into watching the smaller Farron pace across the rug with a furrowed brow.

"Surely you don't think she'll end up hitting anyone again, do you?" Snow asked from behind Serah. As sweet as Snow was, Fang found his loyalty and devotion to be at her side constantly to be sickly sweet.

"She certainly doesn't seem the sort to dash off to go shopping." Vanille piped in, causing Serah to nod and turn to Fang.

"Did she say anything to you before she left, Fang?"

Fang sighed; she wasn't one to tell on others, not even back at the orphanage... but blue eyes were her very weakness it seemed.

"Look, Lightning she… she found a letter in what she thought was her bag. She knows you're moving out soon."

Both Serah and Snow looked as if they'd been caught stealing as they exchanged sorrowful looks at one another and refused to meet eye contact with anyone else.

"No wonder she left, she's devestated!" Vanille exclaimed and despite death glares from Fang, she continued. "When are you leaving? _When _did you plan on telling her? She's gonna be so lonely going from a full house to just herself!"

Suddenly, the front door slammed shut and everyone seemed to hold their breath as a very exhausted looking Lightning emerged from the doorway seconds after getting home.

"What's everybody looking like that for?" She questioned, noting everyone's stunned appearances.

Fang chuckled inwardly; Lightning's eyes were a little more rounded and her fine eyebrows a little higher than usual. Her expression quickly changed however, leaving Fang wondering if she'd figured out the group's previous discussion. Her suspicion was confirmed when steely eyes flicked to meet her own before returning to Serah's in an instant.

"I got you all a little something each while I was away." Lightning explained, head nodding to the pile of bags behind her.

"That's where you've been all afternoon?" Snow asked with surprise.

"I _did_ tell ya all she went shopping." Fang scoffed, realising that she was even being ignored even by Vanille in favour of sneaking a peek at Lightning's haul of gifts.

Whilst the other three were rummaging noisily in the hallway, Lightning sidled past, throwing a black box in Fang's direction from her jacket pocket.

Catching the box with ease, Fang joked, "Proposing so soon?"

"Just open it." Lightning muttered, face tinged pink with embarrassment.

Obediently, Fang tugged at the sleeve that covered the box before opening it carefully, half expecting light to flood from the case the second she lifted it. Instead, she instantly recognised the present to be a replica armband of that which the Farron sisters wore.

It was at that moment Fang's throat tightened, tongue dried and heartstrings tugged somewhat painfully in her chest with the feeling of utmost admiration and dare she think it, love.

"I- this is…"

Lightning slowly held up her wrist to show the richly coloured bangles that rested upon her left arm.

"You accepted me into your family along with Vanille so it's only fitting that you're accepted into mine."

Twirling the thick band between her finger and thumb, Fang admired the strong scent of leather that permeated from it.

"Thank you, Light. I love it."

In the hallway, Snow was exclaiming his love for something that Lightning had bought him, whilst the girls giggled and admired their own presents loudly.

"Doing much later tonight?" Fang asked, pulling off her jumper in one swift motion to apply the armband.

Lightning shrugged stiffly, watching Fang apply the band with a disinterested expression. However her keen eyes never left the huntress for a second, Fang noticed.

"Other than having a long talk with Serah and Snow about them moving out? No."

This was it, Fang released a breath she wasn't aware of holding. _Ask her if she wants to do something later. _She felt disadvantaged from their current positions; Lightning standing expectantly over her as she sat awkwardly in her seat. _Man up, Fang. Man up._

"Fancy... fancy going for a walk after you have this little chat? I'm sure you'll need to clear your head and all."

Worried that Lightning might decline, Fang scratched nervously at her arm just above her tattoo. At this rate even the walls would notice her discomfort.

"I'd like that." Lightning smiled faintly. "I'll call you when we're finished."

* * *

><p>The call came later than expected, much later in fact that Fang had settled on the possibly that Lightning had forgotten, or that her conversation with Serah and Snow had went horribly wrong and that tonight someone had been murdered in cold blood.<p>

Alone in her cosy bedroom at midnight, Fang had simply been daydreaming to herself, but a late call was better than no call, right?

Lightning's phone voice sounded equally as professional as it did when Lightning was in her official 'Sergeant Mode', giving Fang no indication of emotion with her monotonous yet informative utterance.

In no time at all, Fang had grabbed a suitable coat from her wardrobe and laced up her boots, however it became apparent that Fang had lost her third set of gloves that month. With a half-hearted curse, Fang left her bedroom gloveless but otherwise warm and filled with the excitement of seeing Lightning again.

"And where might you be going?" a voice called from the sofa as Fang crept somewhat quietly down the stairs. She didn't want to disturb Vanille, in case she had been sleeping yet on the contrary, the redhead seemed alert and well aware that she was leaving.

Not wanting to lie outright, Fang withheld the unimportant details, "Just going for a small walk 'cause I can't sleep, that's all."

"It's after midnight…" Vanille sipped at her hot chocolate, "whatever, just… _please _don't be long."

* * *

><p>"The second I said 'we need to talk' the two of them instantly agreed and apologised on behalf of the fact I found out they were moving the way I did." Lightning sighed.<p>

Fang nodded thoughtfully and the two women turned left towards the direction of the sea. They weren't to venture as close as the beach, but the sight of the water at night was said to be too beautiful to withhold.

From what Fang had heard, the trio and Lightning especially had talked about the issue of Serah and Snow's house moving in a civilised manner, much to her surprise. Perhaps Lightning had mellowed out over the months of returning from crystal stasis. It looked as though after an hour or two of hard negotiations from both sides, Serah and Snow would proceed to move two weeks from now, much to Lightning's chagrin, but would get married over a year from now. To Fang, this was more than reasonable and as a small act of comfort she mentioned that the trial of them living together before marriage mightn't work as smoothly with the soldier absent.

Her comment fell upon what she thought were deaf ears, as she was refused an answer. It hurt deep in the cavities of her chest to think that her words weren't cutting it for the soldier, like a solid punch to her heart. With purposefully slow steps, Fang glanced towards the soldier, slyly taking in her features as Lightning led the way in order to judge if she seemed as upset as she sounded. Whereas a good friend would be able to look at Lightning's face regardless of her knowing or not with ease, Fang couldn't actually bring herself to gaze at her face directly on the off chance that they locked eyes.

She detested being this… _secret admirer_, or _not so secret_, as Vanille easily pointed out her enjoyment at playing in the snow with Lightning. Never did a member of the Yun clan act so coy around others, courting or not. The internal battle did nothing to calm her nerves, as it was then that Fang was overcome with the urge to reach out and lace her cold fingers with that of Lightning's rosy coloured ones, which were also bare, for more than just the benefit of her warmth.

She scolded herself under her breath loud enough for Lightning to look back and smile uneasily at her. _Good going. _Fang beamed back reassuringly, as their walk continued to be left in a comfortable silence.

The pearly light of the full moon added an ethereal beauty to the snow beneath their feet, reaching as far as the glowing crystalline masterpiece that was Cocoon's pillar. There were certain points of the pillar, the flicks of crystal that adorned the topmost part of the fallen world that reminded Fang greatly of Lightning's hair. Another cautious glance to her left reinforced this thought as the tips of her hair glowed palely with a halo of moonlight. As if by chance, Fang's hand brushed Lightning's causing both women to look down, leaving Fang unsure of herself and her throat painfully dry. Brushing off the tension fluttering in her chest, she commented:

"Your hands are really hot."

Lightning didn't respond with words, yet looked deeper into Fang's eyes than the huntress ever thought possible.

"Like _really_ hot. Your skin is burning."

Lightning released her breath in an uncomfortable laugh, a cloud of air escaping from her lips. Her cheeks were tinged red also, as given away by the bright moonlight.

"And yours are freezing."

Tenderly, as if inspecting a wound, Lightning held Fang's hand with both of her own, transferring precious heat between them. They continued walking with Lightning still holding Fang's hand, occasionally asking for the other to even out her distribution of body heat.

On the opposite path, a man emerged from a corner and proceeded to walk in the direction of which the women had just came from. It was in that short period of time however that Lightning dropped Fang's hand and stuffed them into the pockets of her thick coat. The sudden movement startled Fang, making her wonder what had just happened.

"Cold hands." Lightning explained stiffly, as if her throat was tightening from the icy temperatures that surrounded them.

"I think you mean cold _feet_..." Fang muttered under her breath, slyly watching the man from across the street from over her shoulder until he was out of her peripherals.

"What?"

"I said I think I have cold feet," Fang gestured to her boots, "didn't wear enough thick socks."

The soldier's face remained passive, yet for a split-second, Fang caught her eyes wincing - unconvinced.

Nevertheless, with puppy dog eyes and the offering of a still-cold hand, the Oerban was graced with the presence of Lightning's hand in her own once more. As if to prove Fang wrong, Lightning kept a tight hold of her hand as they let their arms drop comfortably to their sides, causing Fang to wonder whether the soldier had heard her earlier comment.

Upon reaching a set of concrete steps that would lead to small deserted seating area, the view of the Cocoon became overwhelmingly stunning, causing both women to lose their breath and Fang to lose her footing. Fang's heel slipped backwards and staggered upon the ice, missing out an entire step. If it hadn't been for Lightning's vice-like grip, she would have surely landed embarrassingly on her backside. The railing she seized with her other hand was clammy and uninviting, which was a sharp contrast to the pleasant touch of warm flesh that was Lightning's hand.

"You nearly took my arm off." The fairer woman laughed disbelievingly.

"Wipe that smirk off your face Farron or I'll do it for you!"

"Better wipe the snow off your ass, first." Lightning joked, leaving Fang gobsmacked.

Pulling at Lightning to make her fall down the steps, Fang gawked, "I didn't touch the ground!"

There was yet another satisfied grin.

"That's because I saved you." She answered, trying pathetically to tug her arm free, but Fang wasn't letting go. "You're going to make me fall."

"That's the idea." Fang finished, dragging Lightning down into her waiting arms.

It was the embrace she had been waiting for since their little talk on Sazh's sofa, and like some obsessed teenager, she inhaled the light scent of Lightning's exposed neck.

And then – stupidly - she kissed that visible skin.

Although the woman in her arms stiffened, she refused to let Lightning's feet touch the steps and inched cautiously down the remaining icy stairs.

"Fang…"

Her voice was slow and hesitant, her words vibrated in her throat against Fang's face and as much as she didn't want to let go, she did. But Lightning didn't.

Like opposite ends of a magnet, their lips met by the pulling of an invisible force, lips touching gently at first before melting into the feeling, like light snow falling and dissolving into the earth. Being on the higher step than Fang gave Lightning a minor boost in height, and as far as Fang was concerned, a boost in confidence also as arms snaked slowly towards her hair.

Fang pulled apart to laugh loudly in astonishment, "Are you _feeling_ okay?"

"Mm," Lightning began pushing Fang further down the steps, "stop talking."

Lightning's purring response turned her on instantly._ That sounded incredibly sexy. _

They staggered backwards almost drunkenly into deeper snow until Fang's knees gave up and she sent them both crashing to the floor. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs, yet she was unable to regain much air thanks to the combination of the icy air and Lightning's inquisitive tongue. _Her tongue!_

What had gotten into her little soldier?

Determined not to be outdone, Fang added her own tongue into the equation, letting it caress Lightning's slowly and gently at first to establish a rhythm before increasing their tempo feverishly.

Apparently the soldier liked the space behind her ears being played with, as Fang stroked the soft skin that just met her hairline, causing her to shiver suddenly. Fang shuddered almost a second later when the bare skin of her back met the blanket of snow beneath her; Lightning's curious fingers had found their way under her coat and jumper, wanting to meet to warm flesh instead.

As the heat dissolved from their bodies from their surroundings, their kisses slowed to a stop, leaving them in a comfortable embrace with Lightning resting her head just under Fang's.

"You mightn't have Serah around as much… but you sure as hell have me." Fang whispered, kissing the top of Lightning's soft hair.

"Thank you Fang," Lightning murmured; her warm breath radiating Fang's cooling skin, "For everything."

"For everything… you're sure about that? You didn't seem to appreciate my snow creation."

"It was horrendous, that's why."

The two women picked themselves up from the floor with the intention of heading back, however Fang couldn't help but to admire the impression left in the snow from their bodies.

_Someone's gonna pass this and wonder what in Etro's name created it._

"Are you coming? I'll walk you home since your place is closer." Lightning offered.

Reuniting their hands, Fang joked, "Aw how _chivalrous_."

* * *

><p>Fang hadn't been home for five minutes when Vanille pounced on her in the kitchen as she went for a drink. The smaller girl hadn't said anything to her yet, not even a 'hello' but that usually meant she was thinking about something.<p>

"Did you fall or something? She said at last.

"Hmm?"

"You've got snow all the way down your back, your legs and your hair," Vanille explained, dusting her down with a few firm pats. "Etro Fang! You look a right mess. Did you fall?"

"You could say that." Fang replied offhandedly, selecting a bottle from the fridge and unscrewing the cap until it hissed. Vanille sauntered annoyingly in front of her, but this time began scrutinising her face. Yes, she could see the calculations going on from behind the screen of her eyes. A quick recapping thought of Lightning's fingers through her hair sent her scalp tingling pleasantly, causing the taller woman to scratch vigorously at her head so much so that flakes of snow fell to the floor.

Vanille laughed softly at the sight, casually rubbing the snow off of her head for her.

"You're being cryptic, aren't you?"

Fang grinned. "Oh you know me too well."

Vanille jerked her head towards a cupboard, "So well in fact I remembered to buy more salt today because you used up the last of it a few days ago."

"Ah, finally! I've been craving salt since I had to eat those potatoes without anything to add to the taste… and don't look at me like that; I've told you before I'm not gonna cut down on the stuff."

Vanille's lack of reply allowed Fang to gulp down her beer, only seconds from the last drop as the redhead chirped:

"There is lip-gloss _all_ over your mouth, y'know."

Careful not to spill the remains of the liquid, Fang took her time in swallowing and with a swipe of a thumb over her lip she grinned.

"Ah well look at that, I'm so clumsy at applying these sorts of things."

With a disbelieving snort, Vanille joined Fang in her beer drinking.

"Yeah well, _you_ don't own lip-gloss." Vanille struck the cap brutally off of the counter, causing the bottle top to spring wildly away into the distance and the beer to froth. "But I'm pretty sure I know who does… why are you keeping this a secret from me?"

"What secret? I'm not keeping secrets."

"You're going after _Lightning_." She said obviously.

Was Vanille suggesting that she was being secretive, or perhaps lying to her? Her tone certainly did. The girl always knew she had a soft spot for the sergeant, but going after Orphan had always been a bigger priority than pursuing a love interest.

"I'm not trying to keep anything from you Vanille… you just weren't supposed to suss anything yet."

Vanille pouted, "But we tell each other everything."

Crossing the room, Fang patted Vanille's shoulder reassuringly.

"There are no secrets between us, I swear. I just… get the impression that Farron doesn't share the same closeness with her sister as we do, Van."

Vanille's angelic face crumpled with confusion, "And?"

Vanille kept hot on Fang's heels as she wandered into the living room, flicking over each channel in a distracted fashion, although she was clearly more interested in the conversation they were having.

"_And _I get the feeling that Serah doesn't know that her sister likes kissing other women." Fang sighed petulantly, sinking sulkily into the couch.

_I have a feeling she won't know for a while, if left up to Lightning…_

Turning in for the rest of the night, Fang's dreams were cursed to be filled with the pleasantries of her fair-haired soldier doing things similar to their earlier rendezvous. Occasionally she found herself jolted awake from these dreams – which happened more than once – and it left her reeling even more after Lightning. Fang leapt out of bed, desperate for cool air as passion radiated through every pore in her body. She padded towards the bathroom in the dark, feeling weak at the knees and in need of a shower.

_She's got me good that one, that's for sure._

* * *

><p><em>Hope you enjoy! <em>


	3. Chapter 3

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

><p>"So I was thinking for New Year we could have a party, maybe?"<p>

Serah's approach was hesitant, which Lightning was more than used to from the early days of her sister's relationship with Snow. It was always when she wanted something she knew she wasn't allowed to have.

"What, you mean we host it? I see why you dragged me out here now. You want me to buy everything." Lightning sighed, grabbing a box of cereal and placing it in the shopping basket that Serah opted out of carrying. Maybe they'd need something bigger to carry everything if Lightning let her sister get her own way.

Serah giggled, "Well, I say 'party' it would just be all of the usuals plus the NORA crew, if they're not already busy."

Still unconvinced, Lightning pressed forward down the aisles, leaving Serah to browse behind her. She hated shopping for food when Serah tagged along, as everything always took so much longer; therefore it was probably her fault for not seeing alarm bells when Serah initiated the idea.

"Do you still have something against the NORA lot? What's wrong with them?" Serah asked, finally catching up.

"They're friends with Snow for a start," Lightning huffed, "_Willingly_."

The sisters shared a laugh and moved on, passing men, women and children aplenty as they fought their way through what was unusually a popular aisle. Mind drifting as they walked, Lightning stared off into the distance, pondering the idea of a get together of friends to celebrate a new year. It would be nice having everyone together, as she certainly didn't _hate _Christmas as much this time around, the return of Vanille and Fang contributed to her better mood significantly.

The feeling of something being put in the basket alerted Lightning to the present, when she realised that she been staring detachedly at a blonde man's crotch for the good part of half a minute. Of all the places to look while spacing out. Worst of all however, was the awareness that he was staring back intently, winking in a way that made him look as though he had a nervous twitch instead.

She changed her course, pulling Serah roughly into a different aisle and brushing it off as her attempt to get them through the crowd.

Thoughts returning to Christmas, Fang had invited her for another nightly walk, which she didn't intend to decline. The recollection of kissing her brought a strong, bubbling feeling to the surface which she loved and loathed. It was neither the time nor place to feel aroused and it frustrated her; how could someone have such an impact on her?

And Fang of all people.

_Fang._

She repeated Fang's name over and over again in her head, the more she said it the more it sounded surreal for a person's name. Lightning smirked to herself before realising how immature she was being. This was just another way that Fang managed to sneak into her mind.

"Look we can just come back later if all these people are getting to you."

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to, it was that look on your face."

Always concerned about her feelings, always with that gentle, calming approach, Serah had solely adopted the same nurturing proficiency from their mother. But trust Serah to think that there was something wrong with her.

Or was there? She was beginning to feel strange over her thoughts of Fang and that should be entirely illegal on its own. What would _Serah_ say if she knew? All Lightning knew was that she was being pathetic; the way she acted the other night, the way she was acting now in worrying…

How in Etro's name was she meant to look Fang in the face again?

"Don't look now," Serah whispered from over her shoulder, "but a guy keeps staring at you and following us around the place."

"_Three guesses…_" Lightning sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and turning slyly to look.

She had no interest in the man whatsoever, whether it be the one she accidently stared at, but Serah was beginning to pull at her and show her anyway. Unfortunately, it was him.

"Let's just keep going we're nearly done."

The check-outs were so close by now and Lightning had almost avoided _it_, the next set of questions that she always got sick of hearing. Right in the corner, an empty conveyor belt awaited them, but no, drilling into her ear was Serah's concerned voice.

"Don't you want that special someone in your life, Claire?" The use of her real name made her twitch involuntarily.

Lightning bit her lip, watching as the check-out became occupied by another customer with a lot of groceries. This moment was just the beginning of what the rest of her day was going to be like, she was sure.

"Why are you even bringing that up?" Lightning asked, still chewing her bottom lip. She kept her vision purposely in the opposite direction of Serah so she couldn't see the wave of uneasiness that had just washed over her face.

Just as persistent as herself, Serah began incessantly prodding at her back until she turned around and even then, prodded her with every word spoken.

"Because…" Another prod. "_You. Always. Avoid. This. Topic._"

It was quite possible that a bruise would soon form if she didn't stop.

"Tsk. That's because it's not very important. If being in a relationship was more important than protecting you, you'd still be crystal to this day."

Her comment had won over Serah's silence, to her relief, but there was a feeling brewing in her gut that this was not going to be the last she heard of this topic.

She unloaded their groceries without another word from Serah, other than a few noises of affirmation when she requested the next item, which meant nothing other than she had hurt her sister's _unnecessarily_ timid feelings.

Lightning spun around, "Look Serah-"

"Hey."

The man from earlier grinned, rolling up the sleeves of his checkered shirt to give Lightning an eyeful of tattoos similar to what Fang adorned on her arm.

Wherever Serah was, it didn't quite matter at that moment; the only real problem now was getting out of the supermarket without acknowledging the light-haired man any more than she had.

"Look, I'm not interested." She said outright, handing over cash to the check-out attendant, yet the man laughed cockily, grinning toothily.

"'Not interested' are we?" He reiterated, leaning casually upon the conveyor, "but I saw you staring."

Lightning shrugged, "Yeah well I wasn't staring at much."

A warm, heavy hand grabbed her shoulder to force her to turn back around, but Lightning refused to have any of it. Her fist was already curled into a ball ready to strike, however her sister already had it covered.

Stamping as hard as she could, Serah effectively smashed the man's toes with the heel of her boot.

"Didn't you understand the first time?" Serah huffed.

He cursed, taking it as a hint to leave.

It wasn't what she would have done; a quick punch to the gut or lower would've sufficed better but Lightning was otherwise proud of her sister for that short moment.

"And who taught you to be so aggressive?" Lightning said sarcastically, smirking all the while.

Serah mimicked Lightning's usual stoic expression, cracking her knuckles whilst drawing a pretend gunblade, striking a battle stance.

"Only the best of the best," She said, striking downwards with the imaginary blade. It reminded her of the times that Serah used to spar with her, using branches as swords when they were children. "Just wait until I'm the one playing the overly protective sister."

Lightning merely shook her head at her sister's childishness, a faint smile creeping over her features.

Lightning laughed unsurely, "Yeah right."

* * *

><p>"Did you hear?" Vanille said; phone cradled between her shoulder and ear, "Serah said Lightning agreed to hold a New Year's Eve party!"<p>

Fang had only just entered the kitchen with a pile of dirty plates, having enjoyed her favourite Cocoon-based meal yet – pizza. Dropping the dishes into the sink, where Vanille currently had her elbows buried deep in foamy bubbles; Fang regarded what _Lightning _agreeing to a _party _actually meant. It certainly meant the soldier was either feeling ill or a little less uptight about large amounts of guests in her home.

Was this all a part of Lightning's unwinding? The undoing of her stoic, shielded self?

One could hope.

Wiping suds upon Vanille's nose, Fang leaned back upon the counter beside the redhead.

"And how much of this party do you think was Serah's idea?" Fang said bitterly.

Vanille smiled broadly, "...All of it of course."

* * *

><p>The days between agreeing to the party and New Year's Eve came fast.<p>

Lightning paced the space between the fireplace and coffee table nervously, as if she was awaiting a sentence on her life. Not only was everyone due to arrive, but she had unconciously been avoiding Fang ever since she had kissed her. By now Fang was certain to be aware that something was wrong, but Lightning suspected that Fang was starting to understand the reasons behind her behaviour, which was worse. She reasoned with herself that as much as she didn't want to chat about their relationship, of lack of.

Serah sat munching on crackers behind her, completely unaware of her inner turmoil, the fact that she was even remotely hungry made Lightning feel slightly jealous. Having last eaten a whole twelve hours ago, the emptiness did nothing to settle her fluttering stomach.

The sound of reverberating glass caused Lightning to throw her head up suddenly, the dull sound of a snowball hitting their front window reminded Lightning of a few days previous:

_Crack. The mystery sound interrupted Lightning from her nightly routine of polishing her gunblade. It sounded for the third time and this time Lightning was able to pinpoint it in the direction of her window. Carefully laying down her weapon and replacing the cap on the polish, Lightning sauntered over to her window, pulling back the curtain with a frown. _

_A pebble collided with the window yet again, causing Lightning to double back as if it were going to hit her. The ice didn't make it easy for her to force the window open, but when she did, Lightning was not surprised by who she saw. _

_Peppered with snow in the dead of night stood Fang, clutching an assortment of stones as ammo for Lightning's window and looking anything but comfortable in the cold._

"_Fang," She said expectantly, clutching the window frame gently. "Are you drunk?" _

_Her comment was met with a quiet laugh and then, "Only intoxicated by you, Light." _

_Had she really just used that line? The Pulsian had definitely been in the cold too long and yet Lightning had no desire to let Fang inside and wake the household up in the process. They hadn't even discussed their kiss from last night and here Fang was eager to spend more time, and perhaps even more of her kisses with Lightning. _

"_Fancy another walk outside?" Fang said with her arms outstretched, gesturing to the grounds below. _

"_I'm going to pass on that offer, Fang." _

"_But I'm already here!" Fang said with a raised whisper. _

_Lightning shrugged, "That's what phones are for." _

"_As if you'd ever reply!" _

_Like a child, Fang dropped the pile of stones in her fist and looked off into the distance, self-consciously folding and unfolding her arms. _

"_Then what about tomorrow night or the night after that?" _

Lightning sighed, because she hadn't accepted the offer, or any other proposal Fang came up with despite every part of her screaming to say yes to anything she suggested...

The doorbell rang and time stood still.

Only when she recognised the voice at the door to be distinctly Sazh's was she relieved. This was followed by a greater, deeper voice that grated on her most of the time. It wasn't Snow, who was upstairs, but his best friend Gadot who shared the same brutish mannerisms as the NORA leader.

"Hey Serah! Thanks again for having us over, now where'd you like me to put these beer kegs?"

_Lebreau. _

_Kegs. _

Lightning was hosting her own worst nightmare, complete with alcohol, rowdy individuals and youngsters.

The doorbell rang out again and Lightning found herself the only one left to answer it, opening it hesitantly to see the faces she was dreading to see.

"Vanille," Lightning nodded in approval, eyes glued to the redhead's hands, clutching a tub of homemade cookies. "They smell nice, are they…?"

"Raspberry and white chocolate, yep! Serah's favourite am I right?"

"Mine too-" Lightning began, but Fang interjected with the same reply from behind Vanille, finally causing the soldier to lock eyes with the huntress.

"Light." Fang smirked, tilting her head as if tipping her hat. Set behind her greeting was a challenge deep within her eyes, a one that sent a silent message to Lightning reminding her of their unfinished business.

Lightning let the two pass, thankful that Fang had followed Vanille into the kitchen without a single backwards glance.

For the most part of the night, Lighting distanced herself from the Oerbans, finding the company of Snow and friends surprisingly less stressful. As Lebreau dished out several hands from the deck, Yuj and Maqui poured several shot glasses with unbranded tequila, enjoying a free sip here and there. It was obvious that Maqui, having only recently turned eighteen was becoming careless with how much he knocked back, with Yuj spurring him on to drink more.

_I swear if he's sick on the carpet…_

"I feel like I'm missing a cigar or something, sitting here playing cards by the fire." Gadot sighed contently, a glass of whiskey in his bear-like paw. "We should have a poker night sometime."

"Not in my house." Lightning said her in a light, harmless tone.

Gadot looked at her with an amused expression, raising his glass towards her before taking a long chug of his drink.

Gadot's fiery hair looked even more intense with the flickering of the fire behind him as he bellowed out a laugh. "I'm not gonna take advantage of your house, but thanks again for havin' us round."

"Enough chat, ladies!" Lebreau placed the remainder of cards in the middle of the table, "let's play."

"Two shots of tequila says Maqui loses again." Yuj laughed.

Banging the table Snow also laughed, "You're on!"

"Guuuuys I don't think I could drink anymore if I lose again." Maqui whined, banging his head on the table in defeat.

For the next few games, Lightning watched as Maqui lost the majority of different card games they played. She suspected that the older NORA members had made a secret pact to get Maqui incredibly drunk which, after a large glass of wine, she felt was perfectly acceptable.

"I don't feel too good…" Maqui groaned, holding his head in his gloved hands after his sixth time losing. He removed his goggles in order to rub his head vigorously, giving him an older appearance than he usually had with them on.

Before anyone could react he had flown from the table like a bullet, although in the wrong direction for the bathroom.

"Go outside!" Lightning barked, swiftly moving around the table to chase him.

Behind her were roars of laughter from the remaining men who showed their lack of concern for her floor. Only Lebreau seemed to show some understanding for the soldier, as she punched both Snow and Gadot on their arms.

"Hey!"

"What was that for?"

"Bloody _men_." Lebreau huffed, clicking her tongue.

Luckily for Lightning, Maqui had reached the front door and ever further, so much so she couldn't see him in the dark. Using the light that flooded through the open door behind her and the sounds of retching to her left, the soldier found Maqui heaving into an evergreen bush.

"You okay?" She asked tentatively, approaching him slowly as if he was infected with a disease.

"I think... eurgh, I think I'm dying."

His over exaggerated response reminded her of Hope, who although younger, was by far the more mature of the two.

Footsteps crunched in snow behind them, "I brought water for you, Maq."

It was Lebreau, who had not only managed to find the spare glasses in the kitchen, but the time to wrap up in a coat.

"Saviour… 'Breau," Maqui gushed, pouring the liquid down his throat. "Eurghh!"

Maqui rejected the drink quicker than ever before, spewing more into the bushes to Lightning's displeasure.

"You bitch that's not water!"

Lebreau giggled, handing him another glass whilst retrieving the first glass. It smelled so heavily of vodka, Lightning didn't understand how Maqui could fall for such a trick.

"I know, but this _definitely is_ I promise!"

The sound of something smashing echoed through Lightning's ears, causing her to whip her head around to see Vanille running out of the house with her hand cupped over her mouth.

"Casualty! Make way, casualty coming through!" Fang chuckled through the hallway, stopping at the doorstep. "Told ya you couldn't handle more than nine!"

The upcoming sounds weren't pleasant, instead of Lightning's house being filled with vomit, it was her garden instead.

"Oh for the love of… no more drinking games or challenges." Lightning snapped, making a point to glare at Fang and the NORA crew.

"Hey, come on! It's the kids that are being sick," Fang gestured to Vanille and Maqui. "Don't punish all of us."

It was easy for Fang to say, it wasn't her house filled with drunken guests. A sudden frosty breeze picked up, reminding Lightning that it was winter and that she was freezing.

"Come on you two." Lebreau said, ushering a very pale Maqui and Vanille back into the warmth of the house. It left Lightning and Fang alone in a horrible twist of fate that would mean talking to the huntress more.

The more Lightning and Fang stared in silence, the more Fang's apparent satisfaction over watching Vanille vomit diminished along with her smile. The soldier debated within her mind whether or not to re-enter the house via the back door or to just grin and bear it. Fang was first to open her mouth.

"So about the other night-"

"Let's go inside Fang, its freezing."

"No this is perfect." Fang said sternly, her tone suddenly changing. She closed the door behind her, plunging both women into darkness, yet the snow was able to reflect enough moonlight for the two to see. Fang continued:

"This is perfect because this is the exact same cold feeling I'm getting from you, Lightning… and I'm not sure why."

Lightning balled her fists and bit her tongue simultaneously. Just as she'd expected, Fang was aware of some inner conflict yet by the looks of it, thought it was something she had done. Although not _directly_ Fang's fault this fatal attraction to the huntress _was_ partly due to her exotic good looks. Etro help her, the soldier took a good steadying breath, unable to stop likening the coldness in her lungs to diving into icy water.

_Take the plunge you coward. _The soldier scolded herself.

"It's just that…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: After seeing so many new FLight fanfics and updates I felt I needed to get my act together and post a chapter myself... I mean 3 months is a long time, so I hope everyone hasn't forgotten _too much_ about what's happened!**

**As always, enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

><p>Fang stood open to all the harsh elements; snow, wind and Lightning, and yet her tough Yun skin refused to shiver. The blood in her veins kept her warm as her heart seemed to beat a million times a minute as she waited for Lightning to continue speaking.<p>

"It's just that…"

Fang had waited patiently for a good half a minute for Lightning to muster up the courage to finish her sentence, but it was like the soldier had become crystallised again in order flee from the conversation. To distract herself from the situation, Lightning had rolled up the sleeves of her jumper, letting her arms go bare despite the weather. Eventually, Fang had grown sick of waiting and made for the door, yet it was just as her hand grasped the handle did Lightning finally speak.

"Serah… Serah doesn't know about us… _me._"

Fang could have fell to her knees in relief. This was perhaps the best news she could have hoped for because it wasn't a rejection, just denial on Lightning's part.

_Just as I guessed_.

In the past, it wasn't hard for Fang to be open about who she liked, whether it be a man or woman and she had felt interest in both before. Maybe it was a culture thing?

"That's alright, we can work on that." Fang said, turning back to face the woman. "First step is to not give a shit what people think."

Lightning swallowed. "Thank you."

The space between them disappeared as Fang brought Lightning in for a tight hug so that Lightning's head rested on her collarbone. She wouldn't be surprised if the woman could feel her heartbeat, after all it was beating like a drum. Thankfully, the older Farron wasn't a crier, therefore when the two parted to head back into the house, Fang left with a dry front.

The had barely stepped foot in the door when the crowd in the front room burst into a clamour.

"TEN! NINE! EIGHT!"

The room exploded with the bellowing of mostly Snow and Gadot, who swayed arm in arm, their free hands raised with a drink in hand. Serah seemed to be the only one to notice the two women's entrance, as she ran to her sister's side.

"Lightning, hurry you're gonna miss the countdown!"

Fang took a step back against the doorway, eyeing what must have been another Cocoon tradition. A few drinks had been spilt on the carpet, which the older Farron clearly hadn't noticed yet and Sazh sat upon a comfy armchair fast asleep with his mouth wide open. How the man slept through the noise was beyond her.

"TWO! ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The next incident to happen confused Fang to no end.

Fang could understand why Serah ran into Snow's arms and gave him a firm kiss on the lips, as did Dajh to his father, waking him up in the process, but no one else had a reason to kiss each other. Yuj and Lebreau gave one another a quick peck, as did Vanille and Maqui, then Vanille ran to Hope then to Yuj.

Mouth agape Fang watched as the entire room seemed to hug, kiss and return pleasantries.

"What the bloody hell is this? Why're they all kissing, is this some sort of ritual?" She asked, puzzled.

Lightning, who had found a distraction in playing with her sleeves again during the exchanges, laughed nervously. "Kind of."

Before anyone could regret it, Lightning pushed her hand upon Fang's chest, shoving her back into hallway whilst managing to close the door behind her. Their lips, tongues and hands met each other instantly, leaving Fang unable to comprehend the sudden spinning in the room.

The soldier had both hands clutching Fang's head firmly in place and her body pressed very nicely into the spaces around the huntress. Before Fang could get a feel for Lightning anymore, the solider looked back to study the closed door to ensure no one had seen.

"I dunno if I like you being so spontaneous." Fang said, licking her lips to get a better taste of the flavoured lip balm – cherry. "Could get us into trouble… you know I like being the troublemaker around here." She leaned forward for another taste, which Lightning allowed without thought.

Before either woman could respond, the door separating them from the other guests opened without warning, revealing Lebreau who stumbled with a drink in hand.

"Hel-lo what's this? Did I interrupt your little alone time?" Lebreau giggled.

There was a split-second where Fang could see the panic levels rise in the soldier's widened irises and, as if it was the only plan Lightning could think of, she stiffened her hand and slapped Fang across the cheek. It stung to say the least, but the pain in her cheek was nothing compared to the growing pain in the cavities of her chest.

"F-Fang!" Lightning half stuttered, half scolded.

It was if their small chat outside hadn't happened - Lightning was supposed to learn to stop caring. But this felt like a betrayal of sorts.

Lightning made a run for it upstairs, escaping Fang's grip as if her hands were hot iron. Every footstep echoed, although muted by the carpet and voices of everyone else, each step resounded in Fang's mind.

"Fang...?" Lebreau swallowed, unsure of what she had just walked in on, and who could blame her? Fang was just as uncertain herself at Lightning's sudden change of heart. The woman had lost her nerve. Sliding in defeat down the wall, Fang stared dejectedly at her feet, mouth slightly agape.

"Leave me please." Fang managed to say, and Lebreau turned away until Fang changed her mind. "Hang on a second! Come here."

The raven haired girl stumbled forward, leaning close as if she expected Fang to utter a secret. No, Fang's only true confidant was Vanille and she was likely to be slouched in the corner of the room in a drunken stupor, recovering from beforehand.

"You can leave your drink with me." Fang smirked wickedly, snatching the glass from Lebreau's hands without warning.

She'd liken her quick grab to that of a viper striking at its prey, but that reminded her too much of Cocoon... and of a certain old inhabitant. The barmaid huffed at Fang's anti-social action and instead slinked off back into the living room.

So what was next for her for tonight? Fang wondered. She had a thriving party in the next room, where she could continue to drink until she forgot about the last five minutes, or she could storm upstairs and confront the newly acquired bane of her life.

The condensation from the glass dripped onto her hand during her slow process of drinking its contents in the hallway. The melting ice was Fang's only indication of how much time had passed during the course of the night. It seemed that hardly anyone needed a toilet break from the party they were having, as she remained in the hallway alone for the most part. Anyone who did pass her paid her no heed, probably too drunk to see anything past a blur anyway.

She decided that joining the party would be the better plan.

"Here's to a new year." Fang slurred, raising her quarter-filled glass in the air despite the heaviness in her arms. "Happy fucking new year."

* * *

><p>She remained in her room for at least forty-five minutes.<p>

Lightning's blood was boiling in her veins from both the alcohol and her unease. Why was it she felt perfectly comfortable around Fang only when they were alone? She was such a coward for striking and leaving Fang as if this was all her fault. And now here she was leaning against the headboard of her bed with her legs folded under her chin thinking over and over what had happened downstairs.

She leaned her head back, eyes closed as if in deep slumber. It would appear to anyone looking in on her that all was peaceful, yet her reeling mind was anything but tranquil.

_Must apologise to Fang... and get everyone out my house._

Lightning uncurled herself, stretching almost cat-like; her bones cracked under the strain as she deliberately delayed herself from going back downstairs. Fang didn't deserve to be treated the way she was so first thing was first, she'd apologise to Fang.

However, it became increasingly more obvious as she crept downstairs at how quiet it had become.

"Listen up ev'rybody I have an _excitin' _announcement to make!" Lightning's heart leapt into her throat.

The bellowing voice belonged to Fang, there was no mistake, but what was she up to? She carefully made her way downstairs, passing the doorway that would take her into main room and into the door straight ahead into the kitchen where the spectacle was held. Fang had clearly gotten drunk in her absence.

The huntress was standing on her dining table as if it was some sort of speaking podium – with her shoes still on no less. In her left hand was her umpteenth bottle of beer, whilst her right hand flung about wildly as she addressed her audience.

_It didn't take her long to get herself hammered. I suppose this _is_ my fault._

"Let me tell yous all somethin' I don't thinks you knew about our good friend Lightnin'."

Dread pooled in the pit of her stomach as Sazh and Gadot tried, and failed, to get Fang down. The table she was standing on was littered with food, drink and bowls of snacks, yet thankfully Fang was still able to avoid it all.

"Ah look here! It's the woman herself." Fang swayed slightly as if standing of the deck of a ship. She lifted one foot precariously near an untouched but open bottle of cider as she adjusted her stance.

"Fang." Lightning said, her voice curt.

Lightning forced her way closer to the table, stopping only once she had to crane her neck sharply upwards to meet Fang's stare. "Fang, please get down."

Her unfelt plead went unnoticed, which didn't surprise her much considering this was _Fang _she was asking. Yet one thing was for certain, she wouldn't let the woman stay up there for long.

"Y'see everyone, Lightnin' here likes w-"

Without a second of hesitation, Lightning made a swipe at Fang, grappling the hem of her sleeve in order to pull her down. Fang landed unsteadily on her feet, almost toppling forward from the force of the pull.

"Fang, let's go home!" Vanille begged from the side lines, but Fang silenced her with a shush.

"No Fang, Vanille's right you're causing a scene." Lightning said with a little more urgency.

Fang seemed all too aware of the scene she was creating. She was embarrassing herself but at least she was following her own rule: _First step is to not give a shit what people think._

Again Lightning reminded herself that this was all _her_ fault to begin with.

"I'm not leavin' until we've sorted this Lightnin'… you're not one for losin' your nerve." Fang huffed.

The room was still in complete silence, other than from the distant ticking of a clock and the sporadic breathing of the spectators. Lightning planned to keep the conversation at least mildly cryptic at best, as it was obvious that Fang had been only seconds away from 'outing' her in the most dramatic way possible in a room full of their family and friends.

Lightning frowned at the floor.

"Is this all because of earlier?" She asked, although the answer was obvious to her. It was all she could think of to say as she tried to fight back her anger and hold off raising her voice. It was all dying to escape her.

The Oerban began pacing in front of her, laughing darkly whilst lightly shaking her head.

"You bet it is!" Fang gestured at Lightning with the same hand that occupied the glass bottle.

"You said we'd work on it." Lightning growled through gritted teeth. "I was under the impression that it would be a slow, progressive type of thing."

Fang scoffed. "That was before you slapped me!"

"Enough!" It was Serah's turn to cut in, "everyone… thank you for coming but it's getting late."

Her heart-shaped face was stained with tears that kept flowing even as she directed everyone to go home, although it seemed many were reluctant to leave such an interesting scene. Serah remained rooted to the spot between the two bickering women as if she thought she could stop them if it all came down to violence. Not that it would; Fang had never relished any form of payback for the times the soldier had lashed out at her during their l'Cie days. Nor did Lightning want to hit her again at all.

"Snow could you see everyone out please?" Serah said; her tone noticeably gentler towards her fiancé.

The giant of a man also seemed torn between wanting to leave, alternating between staring at the hallway and the three women.

"Y-yeah sure thing, Serah." He nodded, ushering Bartholomew out first who was nearest to him.

"Tell Lightning and Serah that it was lovely of them to invite me and Hope." The older man managed to say, pushing Hope by the shoulders out of the door.

The NORA crew exited next, but not before Lebreau shouted: "Party at my bar in two days, you're all invited!"

"…Not the best time to be saying that 'Breau." Yuj whispered from behind her.

"Fang the invitation to leave was aimed at us too, let's go." Vanille ordered.

Lightning noticed that she looked just as upset as Serah although free of tears. Obviously deep down both of their sisters thought their fighting would affect the group's dynamics if Fang stayed, because they had already just ruined a perfectly happy celebration.

Fang shook herself out of her silent reverie first, thanking Serah wholeheartedly for having them over. She turned her attention back to Lightning, who expected little to no acknowledgement from the huntress, let alone physical contact.

Instead Fang brushed past Serah, her emerald eyes swimming with emotions good and bad, and placed a chaste kiss upon Lightning's left cheek in thanks. It was only when Lightning didn't respond with violence or harsh retort, did Fang feel bold enough to grasp the soldier's chin, causing her to look at the Oerban fully.

"Thanks for having me, Light." She whispered, placing a soft kiss upon her lips.

The moment was not was not be cherished, as Fang was practically dragged out of the house by Vanille, leaving both Farron sisters to stare at their backs as they let themselves out.

"Sis… I've got a lot of things I want to ask you, but I'll leave it for the morning." Serah declared before heading upstairs with Snow.

"I understand. Goodnight, Serah." Lightning murmured.

By now, there was nothing more to do but inspect the damages of her home. What seemed to be _hundreds _of bottles and cans were scattered on every surface the house could offer, as well as in places she hadn't necessarily bothered to clean before. It would be a tedious task in the morning to say the least. Inspecting the table where Fang had stood, she noticed one of the huntress's bracelets sitting forgotten alongside a tipped container of breadsticks. She rolled the piece of jewellery gently between her finger and thumb, watching with delight as light deflected from it from all different angles.

Despite it all, a small smirk formed upon Lightning's lips.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So it's been exactly a month since I posted the last chapter, and I'm sorry it's the shortest one I've offered so far. This chapter is far from perfect for me, but I'm setting myself a one month maximum deadline and I intend to stick to it!** **(Lately I've been entertaining myself reading some FFXII Balthier/Fran fanfics after I started replaying the game a while back. I do love those two!)**_

_**As always my friends, enjoy! **_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

><p>The house had been more of a bombsite than she remembered before going to bed.<p>

There were empty cups, cans, bottles and glasses strewn about the place like some sort of infestation, with the kitchen as the worst hit room in the house. Not a single surface had been spared from the spills of food and drink, and even the vase Snow once bought Serah had become a victim to the party. It had been a hideous thing, that vase. Bright orange, very gaudy and it didn't match the black and white colour scheme of the kitchen in the slightest. Had Lightning been more intoxicated, she'd have accused herself of breaking it, but she remembered as much as not ever going near the thing last night.

By now, Lightning had been tidying for at least an hour, with no apparent progress being made; the rubbish bag by her feet was fit to burst and she could still count another twenty bottles on the counter alone. To top it all off, she hadn't slept much either before her restless mind forced her back up and out of bed to purge the house of any traces of their party. If the remaining taste of toothpaste on her tongue was anything to go by, then she had slept two hours at the most. She inhaled deeply through her nose, taking in every unpleasant alcoholic smell the room had to offer before dropping another three bottles into the bag. The glass fell with an unwelcoming _clink_. Behind her, a stray bottle scattered across the tiled floor, coming to a spinning halt by her foot, revealing Snow's position.

"I would say good morning, but uh, it's still dark outside," He mumbled hoarsely, his throat raw from celebrating. "Man… what a night though, huh?"

Lightning huffed in a poor attempt at a small laugh, "You can say that again."

She continued to clear, leaving Snow to step cautiously across the kitchen with bare feet. Lightning could tell the brute of a man had questions for her stored up in that air head of his, just like Serah would have, as well as the rest of her friends. Thankfully he kept quiet.

"You gonna come to Lebreau's party this week?" Snow asked out of the blue. His entire upper body was hunched over into the fridge, burrowing deep into its contents for leftovers.

Lightning bit her tongue when she watched him take a swig of milk straight from the carton.

"Providing I'm not required to haul your sorry ass back home, because the last time you went over there I had to drive you home and I was at work the next day."

"That was _one time_, Lightning." Snow chuckled, causing him to dribble milk down his chin.

Lightning grimaced at the sight. "It's happened at least twice and you know it."

The second and most recent time Lightning had to rescue Snow from getting arrested resulted in the bathtub being flooded with interesting coloured vomit, which she _refused_ to clean.

Snow chuckled as he remembered the fond memory, replacing the milk as he stumbled across the hazardous floor, still drunk. Lightning knew it wasn't going to end well; therefore she wasn't surprised when the lummox managed to step on broken glass.

No sound escaped Snow at first as he comprehended what had just happened, just a forceful sucking of breath. Blood poured freely from the ball of his foot and heel, yet the soldier felt a not a single hint of sympathy for the man.

"Fuuuck. This hurts." Snow winced, tugging a crimson-stained shard from his flesh.

Lightning sighed, dropping all she was doing to pull up a chair. "Sit down. Let's have a look."

It wasn't a pretty sight, not that Snow's feet were ever a nice sight in the first place.

Once Snow had limped over to a chair, Lightning propped his injured foot upon her lap to give her a better view. Believing her fingers to be better than any tweezers, she began to pull the shards out quite mercilessly.

"You know what hurt less?" Snow laughed, trying to cover his discomfort. "That time an ochu sent me flying into that cliff face."

Lightning smiled, eyes still focussed on the task at hand. It probably would've hurt less, since it knocked the giant of a man out cold for a good fifteen minutes.

"Hope really stepped up during that fight… he looked so angry after it got you."

Snow raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Yeah? Well I'm glad he'd forgiven me at that point then... about his mother and all. He fixed me up so great I didn't even wake up with a headache."

Lightning nodded distractedly, before tightening to bandage on Snow's foot with a few firm tugs.

"I got the keys early for the new house." Snow said, unusually casual in his tone. It was obvious to Lightning that he'd purposely waited _after_ she'd bandaged his foot to tell her this, otherwise he'd have been left to sort it out himself.

"Oh yeah?" Lightning replied nonchalantly, getting up to resume massive amounts of tidying.

"Yeah, I was gonna go down there later today, maybe tomorrow… give it a lick of paint without Serah knowing. Vanille even offered to help."

With the counter cleared of its twenty-seven empty bottles, Lightning allowed herself to stop the tidying, a small, disapproving frown on her face.

"And don't I get an invite?"

Snow's face dropped slightly in confusion. "_You _want an invite to painting a house? _You?"_

Was it so hard to believe that she actually_ wanted_ to play a part in helping them move out? Serah was her sister, and although it pained her greatly to know that she would be leaving, Lightning still wanted everything to go smoothly for her.

"Once all this is tidy, I'll be there." She promised, allowing Snow to limp back to bed.

* * *

><p>True to her word, Lightning accompanied Snow to the new house he'd be sharing with Serah.<p>

Luckily, Serah had still been fast asleep when she and Snow had left, leaving the brilliant warmth in favour of a brisk walk in the chilling outdoors. However, there was still a lot of tidying to be done when she did eventually get back.

Outside it was still dark, with the first hint of light creeping over the many rows of houses in the east. The snow was still thick and mostly untouched by human feet, doubling their journey time along with Snow's slight limping.

Lightning felt a mixture of excitement and edginess pulse through her veins, for she had not spared a single thought prior to this moment on what the house would actually look like. Knowing Snow and his lack of a proper job, Lightning had visions of the house being dilapidated, or no smaller than a shed. How on Pulse could the two of them afford it without her help?

"This is it." Snow announced, stopping suddenly at a pristine looking building, capped with a thick white coat of snow.

It was a two-storey house with a fair sized front garden, with what the solider presumed to be grass under all the white layers of ice.

"This?" Lightning said, unable to contain her surprise. "But this is-"

"Nice? I know." He said proudly, striding over to the front door to give Lightning a tour.

* * *

><p>"I thought you said Vanille was coming to help."<p>

Lightning was only half way through painting a wall in the main room of the house, and already she was growing bored of Snow's company. Although after a few hours of Vanille, she'd be driven just as crazy.

"Yeah well, she still is as far as I know." Snow said, dipping a brush into beige paint. Lightning watched as he made a few large, careless strokes before needing to dip the paintbrush again.

"You're wasting half the paint the way you're doing it." She commented, dabbing the wall and giving it a few heavy strokes. "Less is more."

"Less is_ boring_." Snow retorted, continuing in his own methods.

The front door opened, followed by the cheery greetings of none other than Vanille.

"Hello, Snow? Guess who brought snacks!"

Finally help had arrived, with biscuits and ingredients to make tea and coffee no less.

Snow practically dropped everything he was doing to scramble into the hallway, "You brought food? Nice one Vanille, I'm starving!"

Lightning shook her head in disbelief; they'd only been painting for about twenty minutes and already he was hungry.

The soldier placed her own brush sensibly over the paint tin, eyeing her workmanship with an approving nod.

"Vanille?" She called, following their voices into the kitchen. "How's Fang after yester…day?"

Standing unannounced with her back to Light stood Fang, who turned upon hearing her name. She didn't look her cocky self; in fact, her shoulders dropped the second she recognised Lightning's voice.

Vanille and Snow's heads sneaked into view, watching cautiously, yet Lightning wasn't going to let anything happen on the same scale as last night.

"Light about yesterday, I'm sorry." Fang muttered.

"Me too." Lightning replied wholeheartedly, catching the apologetic look burning in Fang's eyes. She had barely the time to comprehend that Fang had pulled her into a friendly embrace, all previous tension forgotten for now.

"I'm so relieved." Fang whispered in her ear.

Behind them, Vanille clapped her hands. "Brilliant! Now you all pick up a paintbrush and I'll make you all something hot to drink, how's that?"

Throughout the rest of the morning Lightning's heart felt much lighter, allowing herself to enjoy being around everyone. No she was not one to forgive easily, but she would hold herself back for now, for everyone's sake.

With their combined efforts, both the dining room and front room had been finished, each with two coats of paint.

"You should've seen how pale Vanille went before being sick yesterday, so funny!" Fang threw her head back and laughed, recounting the party to Snow in particular, who listened eagerly. "For the _tiny_ amount you put away, Vanille, you sure did make a hell of a mess."

"Oh shut up, Fang!" Vanille blushed from her place on some borrowed stepladders.

The room chuckled.

"You should have seen Fang's face once it hit New Year," Lightning smirked, continuing despite Fang's look of horror. "Watching everyone follow the traditional kiss after the countdown… she looked almost terrified."

Vanille giggled, hopping off the ladder to take a sip of tea. "Oh really? Fang that's unlike you."

Fang stopped painting the patch above the window to smirk. "Yeah well, good for you for learning about Cocoon customs. All I saw was you managing to kiss half the male population at that party."

Vanille poked her tongue towards Fang. "I was just embracing the tradition."

With a swipe of the brush Fang was holding, Vanille's nose became coated in blue paint. "Only thing you were embracin' was Maqui." She teased.

Vanille flushed red, but laughed anyway along with Fang, Snow and even Lightning who hid her smile. The smaller Oerban pulled an expression that was a mixture of a pout and a quick raise of her eyebrows, her gaze switching between Lightning and Fang. The action and its meaning didn't slide past either woman, but it caused Fang especially to get back to work without another word.

It was during their third tea break that Fang decided to become playful with Lightning, as if the entire morning had been a tester to determine her mood. First of all she pretended to hand the soldier a hot drink, only to pull it away last minute. The soldier got her own revenge only minutes later with a chocolate digestive, taking a large bite before handing it over.

"Cheers." Fang said sarcastically, eating the remainder of it. "Hm, this one would've tasted nicer whole."

Lightning ignored the comment and took a place on the floor beside Fang. The room's scent was thick with the fumes of paint and gloss, enough to give a person a headache.

"The place is really coming along, don't ya think?"

"Mm." Lightning nodded, bringing the mug to her lips. The rooms were definitely brighter and more pleasant to be in now that they had a fresh lick of paint. She also noted a while back how spacious the rooms were out of the ones she had seen: a perfect _family_ home.

"I'm surprised Snow managed to buy this."

"Me too. I hope he shares his secret."

There was a used paintbrush just beyond Lightning's reach behind her. She feigned a yawn and leaned back on both arms, her fingers creeping over to the brush. Once she felt the handle, she pulled it close.

"Hey Fang." She called out, gaining her attention.

When Fang turned her head, Lightning placed a long stroke of paint down the huntress's cheek, smiling in triumph.

"You seriously didn't just…?" Fang laughed, catching Lightning's wrist when she went in for a second attack. "Ah, ah, ah. Nice try."

Using her free hand, Fang smudged a paint-coated finger across Lightning's face in turn.

The soldier mock gasped, pulling the paintbrush out of her trapped hand to dab Fang's arm in paint.

Fang pulled away and stood up, almost tripping on an upturned paint lid. "Now you're in for it."

Lightning also found her feet, dipping the paintbrush again. "Bring it."

Fang's eyes flashed dangerously, like shiny marbles, determined to get the better of Light. Lightning lunged forward, showing no concern for getting paint on the clothes she was wearing and swiped the brush across Fang's chest.

"You guys done painting in there?" Snow's voice boomed in the distance. "We need help getting the kitchen painted and then we're done for the day."

"We'll be there in a sec, big fella." Fang called, keeping her eyes trained on Lightning. "After you, Light."

"Age before beauty." Lightning smirked, cocking her head to the side.

Fang didn't look too pleased with that response.

"Oh, but I dare ya."

With her back the wall, Lightning skirted the edge of the room, cautiously stepping over objects in her way and practically hopping through the door to safety. Or so she thought as a firm hand suddenly smacked her hard on the rear.

The soldier jumped slightly, her face flushing a deeper pink than her hair.

"Ooh, soft." Fang winked, pushing ahead to the kitchen, leaving Lightning to look on in amazement.

* * *

><p>It had been a long morning and by the time Lightning returned home it had just past noon. Her right arm ached, as did her head from the paint fumes. She had only just set foot inside her own home when Serah stuck her head out of the kitchen with intrigue.<p>

"Where've you been? You and Snow just upped and left without leaving a message or anything."

"Just sorting stuff out, nothing to worry about." Lightning said passively, removing her wet shoes and overcoat. "Now if you don't mind I'm going for a lie down upstairs."

"But we were going to have a chat about yesterday, remember?"

Of course she remembered, it had been playing in the back of her mind ever since last night.

She trudged slowly up the stairs, with Serah close behind her.

"You've been painting." It wasn't a question. She stopped in her tracks.

"How did you guess?" The older Farron asked, suspecting the strong smell of paint to be the give away.

Serah huffed, placing both hands on her hips like a child with a tantrum.

"Because, you've got a handprint on your ass." She said as if it was obvious.

Lightning sighed. _Thank you, Fang. _

"Oh guess I got paint on my hands." Lightning said calmly.

Lightning continued the rest of the way up the stairs, her eyelids increasingly feeling as heavy as lead.

"It's definitely not from _your_ hand, sis!" Serah shouted knowingly.

* * *

><p>With Lightning upstairs, Serah made her way to the kitchen to ponder recent events, especially the scene Fang had managed to cause yesterday. Vanille had informed her on more than one occasion that Fang respected Lightning like no other, and Serah had reason to believe Lightning respected Fang just as much. They were good friends, <em>close<em> friends… and then there was that parting peck on the lips from Fang.

Maybe Fang had a thing for her sister? She _had _heard all about the great dynamics the two of them had throughout their l'Cie journey, as Sazh recounted almost every great moment the duo had fighting alongside one another. Chances were Fang had gotten too attached to her sister.

The unmistakable sound of Snow arriving through the door quickly changed her thoughts.

While Lightning and Snow were away, Serah had done her part in helping to tidy up the kitchen, ridding it of its alcoholic smell with a good all round scrub using soapy water and a cloth.

"There's my beautiful fiancé!" Snow beamed as he entered the kitchen, smelling of fresh air, deodorant and despite the cover up, sweat. Serah found herself pulled into a heart-warming hug by the man.

"Where have you been?" She smiled as she left his embrace. "Both you and Claire have been out all morning."

Snow took a deep breath. "I only went to the... gym. Why? Where has Light been?"

"I don't know. I was wondering if you could tell me, I mean, she came home with a paint handprint on her ass."

Snow gawped. "W-what? You mean like… not her own?"

"I'm no detective," Serah said, shaking her head vigorously. "But she couldn't have made that handprint by herself."

Snow frowned the second Serah turned her back to him, knowing that the only people who helped him paint at their new house were Vanille and Fang.

"I'm none the wiser." Snow shrugged, collapsing into a chair as Serah made coffee for them both.

* * *

><p>Lightning stirred from her sleep after a solid three hour nap. Her arm still ached from the painting but otherwise she felt as though she had the energy to face the rest of the afternoon. Having just fallen into bed with the clothes she had used for painting, she stood in front of the mirror, craning her neck over her shoulder to get a look at the handprint that Serah referred to. There in plain sight on the left side of her old sweat pants was the blue handprint that belonged to a right hand. It seemed emblazoned onto the fabric, like some sort of fancy logo.<p>

Unfortunately, Serah was right in saying that the handprint could not have belonged to her. As Lightning placed her own hand over the print, not only were the fingertips longer and more slender, but the angle at which she would have placed her hand would have been impossible to achieve by accident.

Lightning shook her head, smiling all the while as Fang's name rang loudly in her mind.

_I've got to get her back for this. _She thought as she changed into cleaner clothes, the thought of Fang one-upping her drove her crazy.

"Sis?"

Serah's head poked cautiously through the door, which Lightning hadn't even heard open, before shuffling sideways into the room.

It was obvious what she was here for; their little conversation which she had promised to have with her. She had been expecting it all day and yet it was only now did she feel like running away or swallowing a few strong drinks first.

"So about yesterday…" Serah trailed off as Lightning sat on the edge of her bed. "All that happened with Fang, I think I know."

Lightning raised an eyebrow, watching as Serah walked from the door to the window to stare at the light flakes of snow that had begun to fall.

Serah continued. "I've put two and two together and I think Fang likes you. Am I right? Is this what it's all about? And… and that whole argument last night was because Fang was hurt, right? I mean no one likes to be rejected, do they? It must be hard for her."

Serah's words came spilling out of her mouth at a rate Lightning found hard to keep up with. It reminded her so much of when Vanille tried to speak when she was excited about something. The similarities between the two girls were uncanny.

A pause.

"You're only half right."

The two sisters locked eyes through the reflection in the glass window, and Lightning was sure her sister understood there and then, even if she wasn't looking at her directly.

Serah finally turned around, her icy blue eyes wide in shock. "You mean…?"

Lightning closed her eyes and nodded. The urge to cry was overwhelming but she managed to hold it back. Tears were for sorrow.

Lightning inhaled deeply, careful not to take a shuddering breath that was tell tale of crying.

"She's all I think about." She managed to say.

Serah nodded slowly, taking a seat beside Lightning on the bed. The two sisters sat facing the window as they absorbed their exchange. Serah's silence unnerved her. Lightning never expected Serah to become muted and she was just _waiting _for the sound of disappointment to pour from Serah's mouth, or even disgust.

But it never came.

At long last, Serah pulled Lightning into a warm embrace, to the soldier's relief, muttering into her sister's collarbone something illegible. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from Lightning's shoulders. Her worries slipped from her as if she had just unclasped her pauldron and let it fall to the floor.

"Does that mean I'll not get to be an auntie?"

Lightning almost choked.

"Uh…" Was this her sister's only concern, having nieces and nephews? "Afraid not."

"And who else knows?"

"Vanille. She's bound to have known from the start."

Serah's eyes lit up. "Ooh that means we can chat about you two! I'm going to call her now." She said, jumping up suddenly.

"Like hell you are." Lightning spat, the last thing she wanted right now was to have more gossip flowing around about her. At least when she was back at work by the end of the week, she'd be surrounded by people who weren't immediate family or friends, which meant they would know nothing of yesterday.

* * *

><p>The next few days flew over quickly, as if the world wanted Lightning to confront her fears about facing the rest of her friends. In the short space between New Year and Lebreau's party Lightning had let Fang know about Serah, who had promised to keep quiet, meaning not even telling Snow. Although the solider didn't talk to Fang in person, the huntress seemed thrilled nonetheless over the phone, even joking that she was pleased she wouldn't have to be in fear of Serah beating her up if she found out on her own accidently.<p>

They were close to their destination now as the snow had become more like slurry on the surrounding streets, due to the saltiness of the sand.

"You nervous?" Serah asked as the two of them walked under lit street lamps towards the beach. It was just as if they were back on Cocoon, as the darkness also crept up fast upon them in the early evening, if not faster.

Serah had easily took her silence for a 'yes' but thankfully didn't push further in questions. Instead she found pleasure in commenting on every little small thought that popped into her mind about the scenery.

"Ooh look at all the icicles on that house." She gasped.

"Yeah, lovely." Lightning deadpanned, not bothering to look as she fought to keep her composure; the closer they got to the bar, the louder the music became and the more Lightning's heart seemed to fit with the rapid beats of the music.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I've been naughty again in not keeping up with my own update schedule, but one of my excuses is that I've been on holiday. Did anyone catch my FFIX reference? It was obvious enough, and probably made Fang sound like an idiot, ha! (I've also had an idea for another FLight story, but I promise it won't be written until all three stories I have on the go already are done!**

**As always, enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6

The Other Battlefield

Chapter 6

* * *

><p>The entire main room of Lebreau's bar was already filled with patrons despite the scheduled party only starting fifteen minutes ago. The whole dance floor, including the seating area and edges of the bar were tinted blue, making the bar appear darker than it was outside. Every so often, flashes of multi-coloured lights would appear from the ceiling supports in time to the beat of the music.<p>

As far as Lightning could see, or in this case _not see_, the bar was the biggest hit of all as there was not a single gap left visible at the counter. There was an occasional view of the upturned bottles that lined the back wall, but only when someone moved their head.

Lightning pushed herself further into the bar, already frowning in distaste at how busy it was.

"I thought this was going to be a private party." Serah shouted above all the noise, referring to sheer amount of unknown faces in the building.

Lightning did too. Trust Lebreau to want to profit from a party.

Quick as a flash, Lightning's eyes caught a glimpse of what could have been Vanille passing from one end of the room to the other towards to tables. If she followed her direction, maybe then they'd find out where they were located.

"Over here." Lightning called behind her, hurrying forwards with Serah in tow, squeezing carelessly through people who refused to budge.

"_Idiots_." She spat, not bothering to lower her voice when the music concealed her voice for her.

Serah tugged gently at Lightning's sheer teal blouse, "I'm going to go get us both drinks… vodka and coke, right?"

Before Lightning could even respond with so much as 'but wait!' Serah had ducked under a man's arms, which was carrying three drinks unsteadily in hand.

_I don't even like vodka and coke mixed together. _She thought, huffing when she realised she had been abandoned by her own sister in a strange place. Lightning stood motionless near the edge of the dance floor where the crowd was more dispersed.

"…ight…ng?"

The soldier whirled around quickly, having sworn that someone had called her name and yet no one recognisable came into view.

"I _said _how cool is the lighting?" A male teen commented to his friend, pointing to a neon green laser light that shot out a row of ten or more moving beams into the crowd.

Irked slightly that she had simply misheard, Lightning pressed on.

It took ten good minutes of persistent searching for Lightning to finally find part of her group sitting in a rounded booth in the furthest corner away from the entrance. To her surprise, Serah was already sitting comfortably with her drink, and Lightning's, on the table.

"Hey! We were wondering where you'd gotten to." Vanille scooted slowly out of the booth to allow Lightning to sit beside Serah.

"I had no idea where you were sitting, or whether or not you were already here." Lightning explained. "And _she_ ran off."

Serah giggled out of pure guilt, pushing the vodka and coke towards Lightning like some sort of peace offering.

Snow had been sitting quietly with a drink in his hand beside Serah. The giant of a man looked towards Lightning and smiled, before draining the rest of his drink.

"It's all finished." He said, never blinking when he said the words.

"I see." Lightning nodded, knowing immediately he meant the painting of the new house he had somehow managed to afford without her help. Vanille also seemed to pick up on the hint, replying with a please '_oh!_' sound.

"Then go get another one." Serah laughed, prodding her fiancé in his side, referring to his finished drink.

"I'm right on it." Snow said, pushing himself up. "Vanille? Would you like anything?"

"S'alright big fella, I've got hers here."

Two tanned arms came quickly into Lightning's view, as Fang placed two large glasses on the table in front of Vanille.

"Alright there, Light?" Fang smiled, nothing but adoration glinting in her eyes.

The green laser light switched effects and scanned the room, highlighting Fang's eyes even more, making them appear like deep emerald marbles.

Lightning smiled genuinely, "Yeah."

"What's that you've got, Fang?" Serah asked, leaning over the table to look at the drinks she'd placed down.

Vanille took a large gulp of hers, "Orange juice."

"And I've got cranberry."

Both Farron sisters exchanged perplexed looks, whilst Serah added a quick shrug and shake of her head.

"Not drinking properly tonight?" The older Farron queried.

It was very unlike the two Pulsians to be content with a soft drink while everyone else chose to drink something alcoholic. Lightning's first and only thought for this reason being the fact that they wanted to be more composed tonight, as Fang had made a spectacle while drunk at their New Year party, whilst Vanille vomitedout most of her drinks at the front of their house.

The two mischievous Pulsians shared a glance, grinning menacingly. Vanille reached down below the table, rustling around noisily in a bag until she pulled out a large bottle of vodka.

"Brought our own, didn't we?" Vanille chirped happily, topping up the orange and cranberry juice with vodka. "It's cheaper."

They bumped wrists in victory. Something Lightning secretly loved to see the two do, ever since meeting them. It reminded her of family, friends and the precious bond they shared.

Fang leaned forward to sip and the overfilled glass, as Vanille slyly hid the bottle back into her bag. Lightning noted how pleased both women looked with themselves.

"Vanille thought we ought to bring our own drinks. Did anyone else think this was gonna be a private party?"

Serah gasped and laughed instantly, already getting too excited. "That's what _I_ said!"

With deliberately slow movements, Lightning pulled the coaster under Serah's drink away from her sister, fearing the drink she bought had already gotten to her.

Snow finally arrived back from the bar grinning like a mad man and gave Serah a kiss on her temple. Normally, Lightning would've wondered what on Cocoon and Pulse combined had gotten into the lummox, but as a sly hand crept leisurely upon the hand she had rested on the cushion of the booth, grasping gently, she realised with a smile of her own that it was because he was happy.

Fang's hand was a warm welcome to that of Lightning's freezing cold hand, and along with its heat, happiness seemed to emanate through her flesh also.

Lightning sat back from the conversation at hand, too caught up in the overwhelming feeling of contentment to even care what Vanille, Snow or even Serah had to say.

"I still need to get you back for the other day." Lightning uttered under her breath as close to Fang's right ear as possible for her to hear, but far enough away to not alert the others away from their own discussion.

"Oh?" Fang murmured, and although her lips never seemed to move. Her eyebrow twitched upwards instead.

Fang's eyes remained fixed upon Snow, a small smile gracing her lips in fake interest as she leaned her head on her free hand as if she wanted to hear more.

Lightning appreciated the fact that Fang was satisfied with keeping their feelings on the down low, even from the likes of Snow for now. Pretending to take a sip of her drink, Lightning paused over the rim of the glass.

"Mhm. The _handprint_, remember?"

Fang wet her lips in response. The quick movement of her tongue across her lips had Lightning momentarily mesmerised.

True to her own word, Lightning did plan to have her own form of payback on Fang after she left a paint print of her hand on the back pocket of her sweat pants. However, the only problem she had was coming up with an idea that wasn't borderline evil. Her first thought had been something along the lines of a _'kick me'_ sign, which she thought too childish, and then of pouring a drink over her head, although that was the wrong kind of humiliation she was aiming for.

But then it struck her, as she watched Serah stab at the ice cubes in her drink with a straw, observing them bobbing up and down continuously.

_Ice. _

Ice would have the same shock effect of pouring a drink over her head, but Fang wouldn't get absolutely soaked. The only problem now would be acquiring enough of it.

Light allowed the plan to sit comfortably in the back of her mind, not allowing herself to grin in case she gave herself away. Fang, and the others, looked none the wiser to her momentary space out.

"Fancy a dance?" Serah asked Vanille with a nudge once the conversation had grown naturally quiet between the table.

The second the two girls edged their way past Snow, a hulking form in the shape of Gadot took up both their spaces, looking eager for what could only be described as manly banter with Snow.

Simultaneously, Lightning and Fang swapped looks from the opposite end of the table. Even without words, Light knew Fang had the same thought reverberating through her mind; _let's get as far as possible away from these two._

"And where are you two_ lovely_ ladies going?" Gadot slammed a heavy hand on the table, catching their attention.

"For more drinks." Fang replied quickly, despite Lightning having more than a few mouthfuls left in her glass.

* * *

><p>"Look at that, Gadot's scared them off." Maqui laughed from his place on the bar counter, allowing Lebreau and Yuj to be rushed off their feet serving patrons for most of the night.<p>

"Scared who?" Yuj frowned, "Oh you mean Hottie One and Hottie Two."

The two boys high-fived and went back to watching for pretty girls, while Lebreau was occupied with serving at the other end of the bar.

"But yeah, my question to you Yuj is… whose better… Lightning, Fang or Vanille?"

The cyan haired boy scratched his head in deep thought, "Man, I don't know. I mean one's this cutesy and bubbly _girl_, yet here we also have two damn fine _women._"

Maqui nodded, raising his hands to the space in front of his chest and giving the air a squeeze. "All three of them have pretty decent racks too. Soldier girl's a bit stiff, but I bet she's an animal behind closed doors. Fang… Fang would probably wear the trousers in the relationship but _damn _I'm all for being dominated."

Yuj patted Maqui on the back sympathetically, "Yeah but dude, they're also taller than you."

Maqui harrumphed. "I'll grow!"

"We all know who you prefer though, which is fine by me because that leaves me with the real ladies."

A different voice cut in.

"Yeah? And I'll make you two _real ladies _if you don't get back to work!"

Maqui and Yuj visibly jumped as Lebreau appeared abruptly behind them, placing a heavy hand of warning on both of their shoulders.

"R-right away Lebreau!" Maqui and Yuj both stuttered.

* * *

><p>Lebreau didn't give herself an opportunity to roll her eyes – it would've cost time and money. As she walked back to the centre of the bar, she grabbed two glasses and filled them each under different pumps, firing off the orders she heard with ease.<p>

The boys were always so easily distracted, especially when it came to discussing females, and she seemed to have a sixth sense in knowing when they were slacking.

_Boys. _She sighed.

The gathering of people at the bar was still relentless, but at least it was good news for the business. In the background she spotted Fang and Lightning having a hard time making their way anywhere close to the front.

"Make space people," Lebreau ordered. "Saviours of the Cocoon population trying to come through! Come on you ungrateful lot, make way, make way, thank you. Now what can I get you two?"

She ignored how uncomfortable her shouting seemed to make Lightning, who grimaced when called a 'Saviour of Cocoon'. Her eyes darted everywhere at the whistles and calls, avoiding all eye contact, including Fang's.

"I'll have a round of ten shot of tequila there, Lebreau." Fang said, fishing out money.

This was the first time in days that Lebreau had seen Fang and Lightning in each other's company since Fang's big drunken outburst. The NORA gang had been discussing it for hours on end once they retreated back to the bar for one last celebratory drink.

Lebreau smirked, remembering how Gadot had passed the scene off as nothing at first.

'_Fang was just out of her skull; did you see what she and Vanille were putting away earlier?'_

But Yuj and Maqui had been more occupied with who they could get to drunkenly kiss them, settling on Fang being more 'up for it' despite their theory that Lightning was more of a lightweight between the two.

However, Lebreau was smarter than that, remembering Fang's words.

'_Y'see everyone, Lightnin' here likes w-'_

Although Fang was interrupted; Lebreau had an inkling feeling that the Oerban had a thing for Lightning. Fang was always teasing and flirting in her own way around the solider, and Lebreau had witnessed Fang's charms first hand back on Cocoon, where Fang managed to score a free drink from her during the l'Cie panic.

And Lebreau was not one to give away drinks easily. She certainly found Fang intriguing and no doubt, Lightning did too, but in what way?

As she finished serving the two former l'Cies, it seemed as if some sort of magnetic force had been switched on, as Maqui and Yuj were standing either side of the barmaid, drinking in the view.

"_You two_," She chastised. "They're not interested in you guys, how many times do I have to say it?"

The boys' eyes followed the pair to the other edge of the bar, casually leaning on the same wall the bar was attached to.

Lightning's eyes flicked over briefly to the three of them, and each of the NORA gang waved and smiled as to not look suspicious.

"Did you see that?" Yuj sighed dreamily. "She just totally eye-fucked me."

Maqui shot him a look. "No she didn't she was looking at me!"

She was _this _close to smacking their heads together. "The only one getting eye-fucked from Lightning is Fang over there."

As if to prove her point, Fang leaned in close to Lightning's ear, whispered something then grinned devilishly as Lightning pushed her back slowly to regard her with lustful eyes.

"No fucking way!" They both gasped, fighting to get a better look from over Lebreau's shoulder, but she ushered them further back.

"See? Told ya! Now get back to work, I said."

* * *

><p>When in pubs and clubs like this, Fang couldn't always tell whether it was the drink in her hand or the general cloak of darkness that made people look so bloody good looking. Both things had a habit of masking imperfections, but Fang knew fine well that Lightning had none to begin with anyway. She'd asked Lightning if she wanted to make an early getaway, knowing that it wasn't the soldier's most comfortable environment to be in.<p>

Surprisingly, Lightning declined, but not before giving Fang this… _look._ Fang had excused herself to make a beeline for the bathroom, almost tempted to splash water in her face to cool her down.

_She says she wants to stay but her eyes tell me otherwise._

Instead, Fang locked herself in a bathroom stall, slouching carefree on the lid with one foot propped up on the door. There were too many other women and teenagers just outside the stall door for Fang to have her preferred privacy.

In one swift motion, Fang smoothed her wild hair back as if it usually had any effect, and found herself in one of those deep thinking stages of drunkenness.

_What if she's still hesitating? _

The huntress's already once shattered pride would take a severe beating if Lightning was to reject her a_ second_ time.

As she sat in silence, Fang observed the copious amounts of graffiti and initials etched into the stall's relatively new door and walls, wondering if ever, she would ever get to write Lightning's initials beside hers for the soldier to find one day. However their names would obviously be carved somewhere classier than the back of a toilet door.

* * *

><p>"I'll be right back." Fang announced to Lightning, pointing in the general direction of the toilets.<p>

The second Fang had turned her back on Lightning, she lifted herself up from her comfortable spot upon the heavily poster-filled wall. With her usual indifferent stare, she continued to watch Fang until she completely fizzled out of view.

It was the perfect moment to plan her vengeful strike.

At first she thought it would be difficult to gain anyone's attention at the bar, with men and women still aligned elbow-to-elbow after drinks, but it seemed that a simple irritated brush of her hair worked tremendously in attracting Yuj.

"Heeeey, Light." Yuj grinned, "Now what can I do for the pretty soldier?"

Lightning grit her teeth before remembering why she was actually there in the first place, managing to turn in into an awkwardly formed smile. She leaned forward in order for the cyan haired youth to hear.

"I need a-" She paused when she noticed his blatant hot stare at her cleavage through the transparent material of her shirt, "I need a glass of ice."

"Just ice?" He questioned, finally tearing his gawking eyes from her breasts.

"Just ice." The solider reaffirmed, clenching the edge of the counter in order to hold herself back from hitting the hormone-riddled teen.

As Yuj followed through her request, Lightning hoped that for all this hassle, her plan would work.

She took the glass and returned back to the wall she had been leaning on, keeping the glass of ice as close and as hidden behind her body as possible, as to not alert any suspicion from Fang when she returned.

After a good ten minutes, Fang returned. The Oerban combed fingers through her hair uneasily at her realisation of time.

"Sorry Light, there was a big queue and then I saw Serah who asked if we wanna join 'em on the dance floor."

Lightning smirked and nodded quickly. At first she was happy enough to pour the ice down Fang's back here and now as they talked, but the prospect of humiliating her in front of Serah and Vanille tasted all the sweeter.

Fang led them both to a spot near where they previously sat, which was now occupied with strangers. They spotted Vanille first; who grabbed Fang excited by the hand and led the two taller women beside Serah.

"Oh good you're here I thought I lost you two."

The glass was becoming painfully cold in her grasp, and when Serah took Lightning by the arms unexpectedly, it almost slipped through her fingers. Her sister forcefully tried to waltz her across the floor and almost succeeded if it wasn't for the fact Lightning was taller, stronger and not quite as drunk as Serah.

Behind her was the shared music of Oerban laughter, as Fang spun Vanille on the spot and swayed to the beat in time with the tune. The soldier suddenly felt hot and uncomfortable at the thought of dancing. Dancing didn't appeal to her in the slightest, not unless she had her Blazefire Saber in hand. As if by luck, Serah grew bored of her company, almost running into Fang, wanting to be twirled by the woman. Her skirt fanned elegantly around her, whilst beside Light, Vanille grinned politely.

_At least she knows not to try and make me dance. _

The thought came too soon as Vanille pushed her forcefully from behind into the unsuspecting Fang. Lightning stumbled into the huntress's side, who was still dancing happily with Serah. How such strength came from a girl who was more than a head smaller, Lightning would never know.

Nevertheless, Fang incorporated both Farron sisters in her arms, enjoying the way Lightning tried to recover her poise. "Whoa! That eager for a hug are we?"

The three of them shared an awkward hug, despite Lightning's arms never leaving her side.

"Are you going to let go anytime soon?" Lightning asked, feeling embarrassed that Fang had let Serah unlatch herself without a word.

Manoeuvring her arms so that she could pass the glass of ice from her left hand to her right, she snaked her hand upwards towards the collar of Fang's shirt.

Fang appeared to like the direct touch of fingertips against the nape of her neck, but her grinning expression soon changed when the warm trace of fingers became a cold, cold onslaught of ice cubes.

"Gah!" The huntress choked out, her eyes wide in shock.

At first the tall woman stiffened, everywhere from her back to her fingers stood frozen, allowing Light to step back and admire her work.

"Claire, what did you do?" Serah blinked, whilst Vanille struggled to hold in her fits of giggles.

"Ah L-Light, I'm gonna kill you." She stuttered through gritted teeth, tugging at the bottom of her tucked in blouse. Ice dropped freely from her back, like coins from a tipped purse, scattering around the dance floor.

The move gained some funny looks from other dancers, who shifted away or kicked at the cubes at their feet, although some were too drunk to notice or care.

Lightning was pulled back to stand by Vanille, who shouted in her ear, "I'd run if I were you, she's _will_ get you back!"

One look into Fang's devilish eyes confirmed it; her green irises were practically swimming with mischievous ideas. Lightning held her stare with Fang, smirking as she wondered what even half of Fang's plans were.

The soldier snatched Serah's drink from her hand, ignoring her protests as she took a long swig that essentially finished her sister's drink.

"I'm ready."

"What in Etro has gotten into you?" Serah gawked first to Lightning and then to her empty drink, disappointed that it was gone. Fang arched a perfect eyebrow and momentarily flashed a canine.

"Well I guess I'll give you a head start," Fang said, swiping Vanille's drink and downing the rest just as Lightning had.

"Come on now!" Vanille objected, "I may have brought my own drink, but I still need to buy a mixer."

Before Fang could finish, Lightning dived off to her right and into the thick of the crowd, as quick as her namesake. Her head throbbed with the sudden intake of alcohol and she knew it would give Fang a certain advantage.

At one point as she wound her way through the crowd, she felt Fang try and grasp at her hand but missed but she dared not turn around and lose speed.

It must have been a weird sight for those who knew her only as the cold-hearted sergeant of the Guardian Corps. She was known to offer curt nods and brief replies when on or off duty, but to be seen laughing, smiling and running away playfully was unheard of.

It wasn't long until Lightning had to skid to a halt, having run out of places escape. Turning left would mean she would soon run back into Serah and Vanille, whilst running right would take her to the bar.

"There you are!" Fang smirked from behind her, grabbing her by the shoulder just as she made her way outside, where the air was mixed with smoke and the warm breath of other people.

Tanned arms pulled her backwards, catching her from behind and wrapping themselves around her thin waist. Fang then placed her head upon Light's shoulder, swaying them both gently.

"Gotcha." Fang purred in her ear.

It sent shivers up and down Lightning's spine - shivers that weren't caused by the cold.

"Hey, you two!" Gadot greeted from his place at the door as security. Snow was nowhere in sight, meaning Lebreau must have forced him back to work.

His sudden appearance made Lightning turn rigid in Fang's embrace, but the Oerban showed no signs of letting go, which Light knew was Fang's own way of helping her get over her relationship anxieties.

Fang swivelled the two of them around so that they could talk to the flame-haired man face to face. "Hey big guy, Lebreau kicked you out?"

His eyes darted from Lightning's blushing face, to Fang, who was still leaning on Lightning, and then back to the soldier.

"Yeah," he said scratching his head awkwardly, as if he noticed something was going on between them. "You know how she is."

As to not appear rude, Lightning also struck up conversation. "You… wouldn't happen to know how Snow was able to afford the house he bought, do you?"

Behind her Fang inhaled deeply, giving Light a subtle squeeze as if to keep her warm.

"I was hoping you'd know the answer." Gadot chuckled, louder than the music inside. "He hasn't told me either."

His comment made Lightning frown. If Snow's best friend didn't know where or how he'd gotten enough money, then who would?

The dark haired woman behind her shifted her head slightly, although still in full view of Gadot, she began placing light kisses upon the back of Lightning's neck, to her horror.

"Not going back inside?" Gadot asked with the decency not to comment.

"I- I can't," Lightning managed to force out. "I'm getting this one home because she's already had a bit too much." With a flick of her head, she gestured to Fang who was still kissing her neck.

"Fang_ stop it._" The sergeant growled.

Gadot folded his thick arms and regarded the rather odd sight. "I'm surprised you haven't knocked her out yet, I know you're not one for being patient... with _her _especially."

It was a tempting thought, though she would be forced to drag or carry Fang home if she did hit her.

"Yeah well… New Year's resolution and all that." She lied. "Bye."

"Yeah… see ya." He smiled, with a parting salute.

With a quick turn on her heels, Lightning swivelled Fang to face the street, pushing her vehemently forward.

"I thought we were going to do this progressively." Lightning complained, looking back at the bright lights of Lebreau's bar. It was only once they were far enough away, did she dare to lace hands with Fang as they followed the well-trodden path towards home.

The huntress swelled with the laughter she was fighting to hold in, "Oh come on that was funny!" Fang gave her hand a firm squeeze.

"Please don't be angry."

The concern in Fang's voice melted away any annoyance Lightning had building up inside her.

"…He thought you were drunk." She finally murmured, facing away from Fang to hide her smirk.

Fang knew her well enough to know she was grinning, but she still refrained herself from showing Fang her face.

"Well he definitely thought you'd lost your mind for putting up with me." Fang said matter-of-factly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello guys! I've been working hard to get the word count closer to 5k for this chapter, but you have no idea how tempting it was to post it this earlier without having near as many words. **

**Is everyone enjoying it so far? I feel like I'm nearing the end of this tale, with only a few issues to wrap up. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, whether through a review or PM. **

**Did I mention how much fun I had writing Yuj and Maqui's parts? **

**As always, enjoy! **


	7. Chapter 7

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

><p>The journey home was enjoyable for both women, who strolled at a leisurely pace towards the Farron residence. Grey clouds were scattered across an inky blue sky, which covered most of the stars, and yet neither seemed to mind. Fang grinned to herself; she was pleased that Lightning was still holding her hand. The more Light seemed to loosen up, the more Fang realised how alien the idea of a relationship must be for the usually indifferent solider. But now, it looked as though Lightning's heart was defrosting, worries and all, along with the freezing hand Fang was holding.<p>

The two hadn't spoken much since leaving the beach, but it didn't feel necessary. Fang was happy enough just to soak in the view, as it had been a long time since she felt she could appreciate the thick snows of Gran Pulse. What the foreigners had achieved since rehoming themselves on Gran Pulse was nothing short of amazing.

"You okay?" Fang asked, just as they reached Lightning's front door, which was covered in snow where there were grooves etched into the black wood.

"Of course." Lightning nodded, offering a sweet smile. Fang was glad to hear it.

The pink haired woman began fishing around for her keys, finding them in the second pocket she searched in; she fumbled around before dropping them. The small insignificant action brought a rose tint to her cheeks, and she continued the struggle to find the right key.

Fang remained leaning on the wall just beside the door, watching with an amused expression as Lightning finally managed to place the key into the lock.

"I'm not so sure you _are _okay," Fang chuckled, halting Lightning's attempts to get inside by tugging Light towards her for a goodnight kiss. "There that wasn't so bad was it? I can tell you're nervous, y'know."

Lightning kissed her on the lips this time, although for a longer period. "Who says I'm scared?"

Fang was beginning to like this game, and she intended to play it for as long as possible so that she didn't have to go home.

"Well," she began kissing Lightning harder on the lips, "you know… your date brings you to the door and then you have to decide if you want to give them a parting kiss or not."

"And why would that make me nervous?"

"Oh, I don't know," Fang gave her shoulders an exaggerated shrug, but kept Lightning firmly in her grip. "In case that date didn't want to leave and secretly hoped to be invited in."

Lightning smirked, reaching behind to unlock the door. "You mean you expect to be let it, after the first proper date?"

Fang's silver tongue held the perfect response; however, Lightning's perfect response was to hold Fang's silver tongue before she could utilise it. Their lips parted slightly, allowing their tongues to finally meet in an intimate dance.

Fang pushed Lightning hard against the front door, so much so that it shuddered with the force. Lightning let out a huff of amusement, smiling against Fang's lips. Still under Fang's grasp, Lightning fidgeted with keys in her hand, expertly managing to fit the key into the lock behind her, although Fang was the one to turn the key for. The door swung open noiselessly, allowing the women to pass through uninterrupted.

The hallway was dark once Fang kicked the door shut behind them, and only the only light they had was provided by the moonlight from the distant kitchen window. With clumsy steps, Fang guided Lightning backwards, colliding her into a small table so hard that it rocked side to side on two legs. However, the telephone that had been perched on the table crashed to the floor, forcing Lightning to pull away from Fang to replace the beeping receiver.

"Sorry 'bout that." Fang scratched her head almost sheepishly; as she watched the solider also scoop up papers that had fallen to the floor as well.

The unwelcome interruption had broken their little shared moment, but Fang used it to see whether or not Lightning appeared relieved, just as things had become even more heated between them_._ There was no such indication on her face, but instead she gestured to the kitchen.

"Want a beer? We've still got plenty left from the party."

"No thanks, Light. I'm… well watered." Even mentioning the party made Fang feel sick thinking at her actions that night. Luckily, Lightning didn't seem to associate the leftover beer with Fang's outburst, and she shrugged in acceptance.

The cold hallway was made colder when Fang pulled off her boots, leaving them to the side, beside other piles of shoes. She shivered slightly as the floorboards absorbed her body heat.

"So, er, am I staying the night, or..?" Fang drawled. The question had been niggling at the back of her mind ever since they began walking home; she couldn't _not _ask, and risk leaving Light to feel uncomfortable.

"I see no harm in it." Lightning said; her pitch unusually higher than normal.

Sensing discomfort, Fang added, "Listen we don't need to _do_ anything, if that's what you're worried about. I'm happy to sleep anywhere."

The hallway suddenly lit up as Lightning pressed a switch, the warm glow looked breath-taking on her pale skin.

"Good," A small, yet devilish smirk appeared on her face. "Then you won't mind sharing with me."

* * *

><p>She couldn't pinpoint what it was that made her feel tense.<p>

Fang sat in Lightning's bed with the thick covers pulled up to her waist, staring around the soldier's room in awe, as Lightning preoccupied herself in the adjoining bathroom. The fact that Fang was even in her room, was one that hadn't sank in yet, never mind the idea of being cozied up beside her in a safe environment, no less. Despite Gran Pulse being her home, Fang didn't miss the rough nights sleeping on the hard floor, in or out of caves.

Fang had to admire the overall order of the bedroom, though, it screamed _Lightning_.

The duvet was mostly white and cream, with black stitching that created a pattern of flowers. Fang smoothed it down, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric. As she did so, the door to the bathroom opened slowly to her left, but Fang purposely stayed preoccupied with stroking the duvet.

Only once the covers shifted, and the mattress dipped, did Fang deem it safe to look. She glanced briefly out of the corner of her eye, noting that Lightning opted for a vest for nightwear, despite the cold weather. Even Fang was wearing more for a change, adorning an oversized white t-shirt, which she assumed could only belong to Snow.

"You not cold?" Fang queried, noting the silence between them. Lightning was sat similarly to her, yet her posture was stiffer. "Light?"

In one fluid motion, Lightning shifted herself to straddle Fang, who could only gulp when her eyes became level with the soldier's breasts. Lightning swallowed also, staring holes into the headboard behind Fang's head as she spoke.

"Don't talk." She breathed, biting her lip, as she settled into a more comfortable position on Fang, who could sense Light's nervousness a mile off.

Fang looked on with wide eyes, giving Lightning's body a once over as her mind raced. "I…"

"That would be talking." She purred, eagerly pressing her lips into Fang's complying ones, and with that, any amount of fatigue that she had previously, quickly diminished.

Fang rested her hands on the exposed, goose prickled skin of Lightning's hips, causing the woman on top to jump slightly.

"The fearsome Sergeant Farron," Fang smiled, "is ticklish?"

The soldier didn't reply, so Fang continued to stroke at her skin, savouring the feeling. As if to prove her right, Lightning fidgeted more, still atop of her, eliciting a pleasurable feeling that ran through both of their bodies.

The solider let out a subtle gasp, sending shivers down the darker woman's spine; the gentle noise was unlike anything Fang had ever heard. It seemed too gentle and innocent to ever come from someone as hard as Lightning, but it did, and the woman looked embarrassed for it.

Fang pretended not to notice, knowing that drawing attention would only make Lightning worse. Instead, Fang let her hands map out of the feeling of Lightning's body, which radiated with heat despite her absence of much clothing.

The soldier grew bolder, the longer they kissed; Lightning cupped her face and tugged playfully at her hair, whilst still sat upon Fang's lap. To the huntress, the position grew tiring, as her legs were not free to stretch or wind themselves around Lightning's own legs. This problem would be fixed however, as in one swift motion; Fang wrapped her arms around Lightning's bare thighs and pushed backwards, sending the soldier to her back.

"Why don't I take the lead?" Fang grinned into Lightning's exposed neck, nibbling hard enough to make a mark.

Underneath, Lightning could only squirm, raking her fingernails up Fang's clothed back, whilst using her other hand to squeeze and caress her breast.

"That shirt," Lightning panted, accepting Fang's tongue into her mouth once again before breaking away. "You look really… _hot_, like that."

Fang glanced down at her covered chest, and was met with the view of her own excitement through the cloth. Lightning's hands wasted no time in pinching Fang's nipple through the fabric, causing the huntress to shudder.

_I look better without it on, I promise. _Fang mused, planning to leave the shirt's removal to Lightning.

Her prayers were answered almost immediately, as Lightning's nimble fingers made short work of each button, and at last Fang was able to shrug the shirt to the side.

With the novelty that she was being undressed by the self-proclaimed l'Cie leader yet to wear off, Fang continued to nip at Lightning's skin, drawing shallow breathes from the beauty.

"You d-dare leave a bite where people can see," Lightning warned. But it was the most half-hearted thing Fang had ever heard.

"Oh?" Fang smirked. "Now let's see, there's a lot of you exposed in that uniform of yours, so it doesn't leave me many places."

With that, Fang reached around Lightning's back, unclasping and removing the obscuring material from the sergeant's chest. Eyes wide with lust, Fang had never felt such excitement since the day she first received her lance.

Lightning's nipples budded as her skin grew accustomed the chill, enticing Fang to place her mouth over one, whilst squeezing the other. Underneath her touch, Light arched more into her mouth, letting out another frustrated, throaty noise.

"_Fang_." The soldier warned, but when the huntress looked up, it became clear that Lightning was actually urging her on. Her cheeks were flushed pink, whilst her mouth remained only slightly open to gasp for air.

The soldier swallowed, her eyes conveying an unspoken plea for Fang to hurry up. Hands tracing to the lace of Lightning's underwear, Fang felt the unmistakable wetness of the younger woman's arousal, as well as its sweet, enticing scent. She pressed firmly against the fabric, causing Lightning to drag out her next exhale.

_Bang._

Before Fang could enjoy the moment any further, there was a loud disturbance from downstairs, followed by the drunken steps of the house's other inhabitants. With her back still sprawled on the bed, Lightning craned her neck backwards into the mattress, towards her closed bedroom door.

"Of all the times," Lightning cursed under her breath.

Fang agreed wholeheartedly; Lady Luck was not on their side for now, but there was no chance she'd let Serah and Snow's arrival deter her. Whilst Lightning was still pre-occupied with listening to the movement beyond the door, Fang peeled away the last of Lightning's underwear, throwing the garment somewhere near the headboard.

Lightning's attention returned with a sharp snap of her head, as Fang rested her eager fingers between the soldier's legs, and enquired, "Ready?"

"Fang they're just downstairs, they'll hear." Lightning whispered, almost panicky.

The unwanted nuisance of guests downstairs would never sway Fang from continuing their moment, not even if a Behemoth King had burst through the doors.

Leaning over, Fang placed her free hand over Lightning's mouth to silence her, and at the same time, she thrust her fingers into the soldier unexpectedly.

The champagne-haired beauty beneath her emitted a guttural moan into Fang's hand, which only managed to stifle half of the sound. The soldier had simultaneously bit Fang's palm, but the huntress knew she only had herself to blame.

Not wanting to suppress the tantalising pants Lightning was making any longer, Fang replaced her hand with her lips instead.

It was then Fang realised that the noise downstairs has lessened, whether this was because Serah and Snow were listening, or had moved further into the house, Fang wasn't sure.

Their tongues continued to dance, gradually increasing in fervour, until the only sounds were heavy panting and the occasional tell-tale creak of a bedspring. Fang persisted in driving her fingers deeper into Lightning, who could barely choke out her next few words.

"I'm going t-to kill you for that, Fang." She said with a low groan.

"What?" Fang responded, her voice attempting to disprove her guiltiness.

She shuffled down the bed slightly, to kiss and bite at Lightning's inner thigh, before tasting the wetness presented to her. Within Lightning, Fang curled her fingers, varying each plunge that her fingers took.

"It's n-not, mm, safe."

"We're all adults here," Fang replied, using her left hand to part Lightning's folds and find her prize. She licked the spot once, and Lightning's whole body twitched. "They're not gonna barge in."

After a few more ministrations with her tongue, Fang was finally rewarded when Lightning's body stilled as she reached the point of orgasm. The woman fought back any noise, however, biting into the back of her own hand hard enough to leave imprints.

Thoroughly satisfied with the soldier's reaction, Fang finished off with a few gentle kisses to the woman's entrance, before crawling to the bottom of the bed. Just as Fang fell aside Lightning, her previously forgotten fatigue came flooding back, and Fang could only hope that Lightning wanted to just sleep too. Regardless of what her animalistic side wanted, Fang was content in basking in the warmth that Lightning radiated from her body. Despite being comfortable where she was, Fang knew they'd have to move soon, as their heads rested at the foot of the bed, with the pillows by their feet.

Lightning's face was still covered by her arm, and her breathing had slowed to a normal rate. It wasn't clear to Fang whether or not the soldier had fallen asleep, and yet she knew the perfect way to check.

"I _knew_ you wouldn't be a screamer, I mean you're too reserved for that." Fang joked, watching as the soldier's arm twitched.

The same arm that had covered Lightning's eyes swung to hit Fang in the face, smacking her just between the eyes.

Despite the centre of her face throbbing, she found Lightning's comeback hilarious, pleased that the soldier hadn't lost her violent attitude towards her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: And the points for the least sexiest lemon scene goes to...**_

_**All jokes aside, I'm sorry for the massive delay and short chapter. I think it was because I was attempting to write some sort of sex scene that had me put this on hold. And of course, I've had deadlines for things. I really don't like my sentences in the last half of the story, but nevermind.**_

_**As always, enjoy!** _


	8. Chapter 8

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

><p>The scent of coffee and fried breakfast floated around her bedroom, alerting Lightning that it was a new day, before she could even think about opening her eyes. Her ears were still ringing from the blaring music at Lebreau's bar, whilst her throat felt like she had swallowed a cheese grater.<p>

The consequence of drinking was always a regrettable one the next day, and Lightning wondered why anyone would do this to themselves on a regular basis. She rolled onto her back; eyes still closed, and threw her arms out in haphazardly, only to remember too late that she had shared her bed the previous night.

Her hand hit nothing but a crumpled pillow, however, causing Lightning's already unsettled stomach to churn with a mixture of relief and unease. Had Fang just upped and left in the early hours of the morning?

Lightning listened hard at the sounds of voices downstairs, easily distinguishing the softer voice of her sister and the more foreign intonation of… Fang. She let the breath she had been holding release slowly, smirking to herself. Although she wouldn't go as far as to say she had been drunk last night, what she did have to drink gave her a confidence boost to initiate something more intimate than she was used to.

Her actions danced around in her mind, her skin's temperature flaring up accordingly.

_Wow, I jumped Fang first_. She thought crudely.

And it was a good, empowering feeling.

She shuffled into the adjoining bathroom, planning to begin her day by washing away evidence of her night time activities. Or at the very least, the evidence she could see, as her thighs throbbed dully.

With a few turns of the gauge, the shower and its tepid waters shot to life, filling the room with steam in seconds.

It was a good twenty minutes before she emerged from the bathroom, feeling clean and temporarily soothed of her aches. She quickly dressed into clean pyjamas, a luxury she only allowed as it was her final day off work.

"Good morning," she greeted everyone as she entered the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge. Her eyes were instantly drawn to Fang's back, which was enough to make Lightning's heart beat double.

"Mor... mornin' Light." Snow managed to say through mouthfuls.

"Hey." Fang replied casually, looking up from her cereal bowl momentarily.

"You're up last today, Claire." Serah pointed out with a smile. Lightning wasn't sure whether it was a smug grin, or an overly enthusiastic one, but knowing her sister…

"So Gadot tells me you were taken home, Fang." Snow managed between large bites of toast.

"Did he?" Fang quirked an eyebrow, turning to face Lightning as if confused. "Was I?"

She was playing the idiot, and Lightning knew that clueless expression well. Neither of them had drunk enough to be considered drunk, but they had left early just to spend time together, and well, they certainly did that.

"That's the only reason why you're here." Lightning clarified, but it was only Snow she could fool, now that she had told Serah everything. But she couldn't help add with a smirk, "Drunkard."

"I'm great at handling drinks," Fang scoffed.

Lightning examined the weight of a few cereal boxes, choosing the heaviest on the basis that she would less likely receive the crumby bits. After pouring the milk, she joined the other three at the table, where Snow and Serah both announced their fullness with a loud clang of their spoons.

"I've never noticed this before, but… you two are kinda loud," Fang pointed out. "You certainly were when you came in last night."

Without missing a beat, Snow counteracted, "And I thought you guys would've been louder."

The second it escaped his lips, he inhaled sharply, realising his mistake. Fang stopped chewing mid-crunch, and Serah could only gasp.

Lightning's face grew warm as her appetite dropped to nothing. The spoon slid out of her grasp, filling the otherwise silent room with a resounding clatter.

"Snow!"

"What? I mean, _come on_, there's a guest room and Fang certainly wasn't there last night."

Fang gawked, "Wow, big fella. Just wow."

Whereas Fang humoured his outburst, Lightning felt like something had deflated in her chest. "Serah… I trusted you not to tell anyone."

"I didn't I swear!"

"You're telling me that _he_," Lightning hissed, pointing at Snow, "worked all this out by himself, without any hints?"

Serah nodded quickly.

A little irritated, Snow banged his fist against the table in protest. "Now come on, Light, you always make me out as the idiot. Don't forget I was there as well when we all fought together."

Picking up his cereal bowl, he stumbled to the sink, throwing them tactlessly into the basin. Lightning glared at the man's feet as he walked away, praying he would stand on glass again.

From across the table, Fang laughed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Snow shrugged, "Looking back now, there might have been some chemistry."

That was it; Lightning no longer felt as if she could eat for a week. "You wouldn't know what chemistry was even if it hit you in the face."

And this wouldn't be the first time she believed Snow had more letters in his name than qualifications. She bit her tongue, however, as more insults on his intelligence would simply prove to Snow that he had gotten to her. Instead she scraped her chair back and, feeling slightly unsteady on her feet, padded towards the back door.

She needed to get out for a bit, out of the stifling heat of the house and everyone's stares, which felt doubly intense now that she'd stepped outside with a minimal amount of clothes on, and bare feet.

Her toes protested immediately, as did the rest of her shivering body. Arms crossed, she managed ten more steps until she was in the middle of garden, standing in a foot of snow.

How long did Pulsian winters last, again?

She growled; annoyed at Snow, the cold, and the fact she was back at work tomorrow.

Behind her the door clicked shut, and the crunching of footsteps fell just short of where she was standing.

"Okay, so Snow might've grown some brain cells in the time we've stopped being l'Cie," a calming voice rang out, "but don't get upset or angry now."

Lightning was about to turn around, but the warmth of a pair of arms stopped her in her tracks. Fang rested her chin upon Lightning's shoulder, and although Lightning couldn't see Fang's frown, she could hear it.

"Or are you still ashamed of yourself?"

When Fang's grip remained firm around her waist, Lightning used the provided silence to think about what Fang had just said.

Ashamed?

"Yeah, that's what I said." Fang replied, giving Lightning a firm squeeze.

She hadn't even realised she had said it out loud, but even in her mind Lightning had said the words with the most pitiful of inner voices. Was she ashamed of herself for being unable to follow the straight and narrow path of what some people deemed normal?

"Listen, Light. Whether you or anyone likes it or not, this is who you are. Anyone who doesn't like it doesn't deserve you in their life. So who cares what people think?"

Fang's words had done more than hit home; it hit her in the throat, her chest, and her knees. It was a pressure that was ready to explode, and the weaker part of her wanted to scream.

Fighting back a sob, Lightning smiled. "You're right. You're absolutely right, and regardless of it all, I've never felt this happy in years."

She turned slowly, still in Fang's hold, and planted a firm kiss on the taller woman's warm lips. And without warning, Fang grabbed Lightning from just above the knees, hoisting her perilously over her shoulder.

"F-Fang! What're you doing?" Lightning shrieked, kicking and flailing as Fang spun around and headed for the door.

"Carrying you back, obviously," she laughed heartily, "and keeping your toes from falling off later. Honestly, coming out here with no shoes…"

At that, Lightning ceased her movement, relaxing as best she could in Fang's possession. She even let a breath of laughter escape her frostbitten lungs. And in her limited vision, as she glanced downwards, it was then she noticed that Fang had also come outside with bare feet too.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I've been neglecting this chapter for so long, (I just realised 4 months!) but it took a while to figure out how the characters would react, and life certainly got in the way a bit too. So for that, I'm sorry, and equally sorry that this chapter is rather short.**

**As always though, enjoy! **


	9. Chapter 9

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Farron. I hope all of the New Year celebrations haven't made you rusty." Amodar laughed his usual gritty laugh as Lightning entered his office.<p>

"Sir," she paused to salute him, throwing her arm in front of her chest. "I feel anything but rusty."

"Good, good." Amodar said, leaning back in his chair and resting his clasped hands on his stomach.

He nodded for her to take a seat, and Lightning complied. Now that she was sitting at eye level Lightning could see that Amodar was much larger around his waist than before, clearly having enjoyed the festivities the way he knew how; through eating.

"How are our two Pulsians coping? I trust you've been helping them to get accustomed to their new changed world."

"They've settled in just fine, better than anyone could have expected."

Amodar nodded and the room settled into a silence. One that led her to believe meant she was here for more than just a greeting. On Amodar's desk was a simple paper file, which he pushed forward until Lightning leaned forward to accept it.

"Although it's great that they've settled in, it would be in our best interests that they don't settle down just yet.' Amodar said as she sifted through the document.

"This mentions Fang and Vanille," Lightning said with a frown. "What do you plan to do with them?"

As she continued to read she picked up mentions of a PSICOM and Guardian Corps collaboration, and with that she half expected to see the words 'execution of Pulse l'Cie' along with it. Thankfully there was no such thing written there, but it didn't mean she liked what she read any better.

"You want to relocate citizens?" She asked quizzically.

"Well, not _everyone _Farron, just a few hundred to begin with. In its current state, New Bodhum is becoming overpopulated. By diversifying to other areas across Pulse we are increasing our chances of survival."

_Gran Pulse,_ her mind echoed and she fought the urge to correct Amodar.

"So any location recommendations would be very helpful." He said, pushing his barrel-shaped body out of the chair.

Lightning stood up, still clutching the file as she followed Amodar to the door.

"You want me to write a report on any suitable locations, sir?"

"Yes, Farron. I'll give you to the beginning of next week,' he said, opening the door for her. "You know the drill. Paperwork first, fieldwork second."

"And paperwork third and fourth." Lightning said and the two shared a laugh.

"Don't let me down, Sergeant."

Lightning saluted Lieutenant Amodar again as she left, following the winding halls towards her own office. She may not be out on duty, but the task at hand seemed pleasantly simple to ease her back into work.

At first, Lightning was happy to just reacquaint herself with her office, reclining in her leather chair and running her fingers over the polished desk. There wasn't a speck of dust. Even the old photograph of herself and Serah had been wiped clean whilst she'd been away, and her single plant watered. She gazed fondly at the photograph, delaying herself from her work that little bit longer.

It was a good two hours into her work before Lightning realised how troublesome the document Amodar had presented really was; it proposed that with the vast knowledge of Fang and Vanille, they would relocate a few hundred citizens. It wasn't going to be an easy task, and Lightning's first thought was how they were going to persuade anyone to even move.

If it wasn't hard enough building a town, they would need to cull a lot of Gran Pulse's more dangerous beasts.

_And what would Titan think of all this? _

The colossal fal'Cie couldn't be forgotten, especially as it could create an entirely new species just by eating another.

And as for places people could actually inhabit, only Oerba came to mind, as Paddra lay in ruins. Yet the very thought of Oerba made the soldier feel uneasy – would Fang _want_ to see Oerba inhabited once more?

And more importantly would it prompt Fang to live there again?

She was becoming really selfish as of late; wanting Serah back into her own care away from Snow, and Fang all to herself.

But Oerba was so far all she had.

* * *

><p>With the moving day looming closer, Serah wanted to ensure that Lightning was well fed up until her last days of being home. Although her sister was great at planning most aspects of her life, she never planned her meals and had a notoriously bad eating habit after work.<p>

Tonight she felt like making a stir-fry using strips of gorgonopsid meat, because she knew despite the fact it was all her sister seemed to eat when she first set foot on Pulse, she enjoyed it. Snow was the same, except he pretty much ate anything she put in front of him. But at least _he_ ate after a long day.

Speaking of which, it was unusual that Snow wasn't home. He hadn't mentioned anything about NORA, but in the last few weeks he had hardly mentioned their new house either, despite being more excited than her at times.

However, after ten minutes into her cooking preparation time, her fiancé finally staggered through the front door. She heard him wipe his feet and sigh heavily.

When she deemed the pan hot enough, Serah tipped gorgonopsid strips into the oil, drowning out most of Snow's noisy antics with the sizzling of the meat.

"That smells amazing," Snow sighed, his arms appearing around her waist, adding the gentle weight of his head on her shoulder. "I can't wait to come home to this every day."

"But you already do," Serah chuckled, batting his wandering hand away from the half-cooked food.

"I mean _our_ home. _Ours_."

Excitement bubbled in her stomach; their dream would soon become reality in just a matter of days. But then it was just her sister she had to worry about now, how would she cope in a house on her own?

The rest of Serah's evening went without incident - and without Lightning.

It was nearing midnight and Lightning was never out this late unless she was specifically doing a night patrol.

"Seriously where is she?" Serah asked, clutching at her elbows as she paced her bedroom. "I've tried calling her but her phone is switched off and there is no one answering at work."

Snow had just taken off his bandana and was beginning to scratch his head in relief; obviously the thought of being worried hadn't crossed his mind yet.

"She's worked overtime before, maybe she still is. I know it seems a little unlikely if it's her first day back, unless…"

"Unless what?" Serah urged, "Unless she's out there lying in a pool of her own blood?"

Snow shook his head, and peeled back the covers of their bed. "Unless Fang took her out somewhere after work, she did mention to me that she wanted to take Light out somewhere."

"I didn't know you were out with Fang today," Serah narrowed her eyes. "You two are like a bunch of kids when you're together, what were you up to?"

She joined him in bed, and only then did she notice the underlying smell of turpentine.

_He's been painting,_ she thought, swelling up with pride. _I'll let him off with whatever white lie he creates next._

"Oh you know the usual," Snow yawned. "We played card games and darts at Lebreau's."

"Oh lovely," she smiled to herself, enjoying the warmth of the bed in contrast to the weather outside.

* * *

><p>The hours and the days passed by quicker than Lightning ever expected, and before she knew it, she was working overtime every night until the janitor forced her to leave so that he could lock up.<p>

She would leave for work in darkness and arrive home in darkness, as the winter mornings meant later sunrises and earlier sunsets. Luckily for her, Serah was still at home cooking so there was always dinner left in the fridge, but it was the only evidence Lightning had that she was around.

It had been four solid days since she had seen her sister, who was always in bed by the time Lightning returned.

The fridge would always have a sticky note from Serah telling her to enjoy her food, and Snow would always add a smiling face to the end of it. This form of communication seemed to catch on, as the coffee table always had some form of note to say that Fang had called round, and wanted to see her.

Not only had Lightning been focussing on her report, but she had recruits to discipline, and meetings to attend. The work she didn't have at the start of the week was certainly piling up towards the end of it.

_Why is this so damn hard?_ She cursed Amodar and his faith in her abilities.

With a map in hand, Lightning had circled suitable areas of interest including Sulyya Springs; although the caverns weren't ideal for living in, the surface would be perfect, as she recalled plenty of waterfalls.

_But then there is Bismarck._

Someone knocked at her door just as Lightning threw her pen at it in frustration. She quickly grabbed for a new one and resumed her studious pose as the door reluctantly opened. The soldier poked his head through the gap, hesitantly placing his full body into view once Lightning acknowledged him.

"You have a visitor Sergeant," the man announced.

Lightning nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't you think you've worked enough this week?"

"Serah?" Lightning blinked several times before she could believe it was her sister visiting at eleven o'clock at night. "Why aren't you at home?"

"_Why aren't you?_" Her sister retorted.

"Is Snow here with you?" There was no way she'd forgive the lummox if he'd let her travel all the way out here alone.

"He's waiting outside," Serah said. "Now come on we're leaving."

Lightning slammed her second pen down out of annoyance. _She understands nothing about true work. _

A cruel idea entered her mind, and Lightning stood up ready to leave, gesturing for Serah to leave.

"Let's go then," Lightning said curtly, ignoring Serah's protests at being ushered out.

And just as Serah crossed the threshold of her office into the hallway, Lightning slammed the door shut on Serah, locking her outside.

"CLAIRE FARRON!"

Serah only ever said her old name when she was annoyed, or trying to get through to her. She found it somewhat amusing in her tired state that Serah was currently annoyed and trying to get through to her, albeit the door first.

"I'll be home soon I promise." Lightning said, and Serah eventually left defeated.

* * *

><p>The thoughts of Fang leaving Lightning for Oerba was too much, and the soldier had increased her workload just by failing to tell Amodar about Oerba in her unfinished report.<p>

Serah had gotten the hint the first time and refused to visit her at work anymore, or even leave happy notes on the fridge. And most of the time, the only person she ever spoke to during her time in the office was the janitor as he kicked her out to close up. She was a few minutes away from hitting the weekend when she received a knock at the door.

"Hullo, you got yourself a visitor." The janitor sighed, looking tired of seeing her once again. "An' you've got 'bout ten minutes before I've gotta kick you out _again_."

Lightning nodded and thanked the man. She was ready to tell Serah to go home when she saw a flash of darker skin pass by the janitor.

In one smooth motion Lightning flipped Amodar's document closed and rolled the map aside as she casually leaned on her elbows.

"Serah told me I'd find you here. You've been working pretty damn hard lately."

"I daresay it was easier being a l'Cie than it was to train the recruits I've been given."

"And the paperwork is tougher than adamantoise skin, I bet." Fang said eyeing the papers and scrolls Lightning had tried to push aside without her noticing. "Serah's worried about you, y' know."

Lightning knew as much; this wasn't the first time in her career that Lightning had gone and buried herself in her work, at the expense of Serah.

"And you're here because you're also worried?" Lightning asked as Fang studied her office, hopping on one of the low wooden filing cabinets.

"Worried?" Fang repeated, staring right at her, "no, but I miss you."

_And I regret neglecting you more than my sister._

She would never say as such out loud, so instead Lightning shot up from her seat and strode the five easy steps to Fang, kissing the woman hard. The huntress nearly fell backwards from the force until she grabbed the lapels of Lightning's jacket. Fang pulled her closer still, until the toecaps of her boots collided with the cabinet with a dull _thunk_.

"I'm sorry." Lightning muttered.

Fang exhaled softly as Lightning licked and sucked her way down to Fang's throat, the fabric scarf unravelled easily as Lightning nudged it out of the way with her nose.

The soldier nipped at the piece of flesh that connected Fang's shoulders, eliciting a breathy laugh from the Pulsian.

"All work and no play makes you _very_ eager."

Lightning smirked against Fang's caramel skin, unzipping her turtleneck and flashing the same bit of skin. Lightning's fair skin was covered in small purple love bites.

"I just want us to match." She whispered, biting Fang's neck playfully.

Fang was fidgeting beneath her, fighting against Lightning's grip upon her waist, but with every attempt the soldier pinned her down. Fang was a quick enough learner – Light was not going to let her budge unless she permitted it.

"Why couldn't you have had your sari on?" Lightning hummed, pulling Fang closer so that they could both feel a delicious friction.

"Well if you'd have me freez-"

There was another knock at the door. "I'm closing up now, you coming?"

By the time his head emerged from the door, Lightning's hands were delved deep into one of the cabinets, plucking a not-so-important document, as Fang sat with her legs crossed, examining her fingernails.

"_We're coming_," Fang told the impatient man as she hopped off the counter, ignoring Lightning's look of warning.

Lightning slammed the cabinet shut, ensuring the zip on her turtleneck was a high as possible before following Fang and the janitor out.

The huntress followed her wordlessly to her velocycle, one Cocoon invention that Fang never used and was never comfortable with.

"I know you'd rather walk, or bounce around on a chocobo, but this is far quicker," Lightning said as Fang let out a childish chuckle at her choice of words.

"You make it sound like I hate flying," Fang stated as she stroked the icy cold metal of the velocycle.

Lightning swung her leg over the machine, and Fang copied her, settling herself around Lightning.

Delicate snowflakes began to drift from the overcast sky, which threatened to open up into a storm if they dithered. Reaching for one of the cycle's compartments, she pulled out two goggles and passed one to Fang.

"Don't do anything stupid," Lightning warned as she started up the engine.

Fang huffed at her, snapping the goggles into place on her face. She looked incredibly different with them on, and Lightning didn't like the way it obscured the beauty of her green eyes.

"Relax, I haven't got a death wish." She replied, replacing her arms around Lightning's waist.

The soldier was wary for the first few seconds of the velocycle's ascent, as the huntress was always one for mischief. Yet true to her word, Fang remained still for the most part of the journey.

"I hope you're not burying yourself in tons of work because of Serah flying the nest soon," Fang said out of the blue when Lightning stopped outside of the Oerban's shared house.

She handed back the goggles, and when Lightning remained silent Fang added: "Or because of_ this_."

The goggles over her face felt like a shield to the unyielding stare Fang was giving her. Lightning bit her bottom lip, which was cold from the air.

"Don't worry. I feel no sort of regret or shame… what you said the other day really helped."

Fang stepped close to her, pushing the goggles onto Lightning's forehead so that she could get a better look.

After a moment's silence, Fang kissed her, and both of their frozen lips melted into a wet warmth.

And then Fang shrunk into the darkness and Lightning sat staring holes into the woman's back.

"Fang?"

The other woman turned expectantly. "Yeah?"

"Move in with me. Once Serah leaves." Something caught in her throat. "Please."

Fang smiled. It wasn't a toothy smile, but a soft, genuine one.

"Yeah, I'd like that Light."

Once again, Lightning watched Fang return home, and just as Fang closed the door, she noticed the closed curtains upstairs flutter.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Why hello there! Yep still alive. **

**I'm sorry if this chapter seems like I've trying too hard get loads of scenes over with, that's mostly because I am. Since the events here happen over the course of a week, there was no way I wanted to write any sort of filler just to make it drag out more. **

**On another note, I can't believe how supportive you all are, thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10: Part A

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 10: Part A**

* * *

><p>"So you're not regretting what you said then?"<p>

Fang was questioning Lightning down the phone whilst stalking around the house, opening every door she could find, including cupboards. She heard Lightning sigh down the earpiece, but to be fair she had already asked the question two or three times already.

"_I'm not trying to mess you about - of course I'm being serious."_

"Uh-huh, that's good to hear," Fang knocked on the bathroom door before entering, only to find it was vacant. "Now if only I could find Vanille to tell her. Bloody girl has vanished."

"_Have you checked the fridge?"_ Lightning quipped, and Fang could almost hear the smirk pour through the phone, if it were possible.

It was a relief to hear some sort of cheerfulness come from the soldier, especially after the week she'd had secluding herself from her family and friends. Fang had managed to haul Lightning out of her office, but she had doubts that the soldier was simply relaxing as she spoke to her. Fang could practically hear the scratching of her pen.

"Very funny, Light. But seriously did Serah mention anything about going out with her?"

Fang even double checked Vanille's bedroom, patting down the thick covers piled messily on her bed just in case she was hiding.

"_Serah's out with the idiot looking for furniture,"_ Lightning replied resentfully.

"Perfect," Fang cracked a smile. "You're bored, I'm bored. I'll pay you a visit."

"_Fang,"_ Lightning said with a hint of dread, drawing out the huntress's name. _"I'm busy."_

Before she could hear anymore however, Fang hung up the phone. As if she was going to take a no for an answer.

Within twenty minutes Fang was already at Lightning's door, the snow having barely touched her in her haste to get there. The Pulsian rattled the door handle impatiently, and the door clicked open, much to her satisfaction, and she let herself in. The heat of Lightning's home hit her first, all toasty and warm, followed by the comforting clean smell of the soldier herself.

She shut the door quietly behind her, wondering whether or not the door was open because Lightning did want her in, or because Serah and Snow were out. She stalked across the hall and peeked into the living room – nothing. The kitchen was the same.

_What is it with people hiding from me today?_ Fang wondered and she quietly stalked her way upstairs, fingers tracing the bannister ever so gently as she ascended.

The top step wailed when she stood on it, and Fang held her breath long enough to hear the continuous scratching of a pen. It wasn't hard to tell which room Lightning was in, as it was the only one with light flooding underneath the door. She quickened her pace to the door, keeping her steps light as a feather.

"Surprise! You should really lock your damn door," Fang said, suddenly bursting into the room.

It was as if Lightning had cast 'Haste' upon herself; the second Fang shot through the door, whatever had been on the desk was now swept carelessly into a top drawer.

"Was that you 'not working', was it?" Fang wasn't angry, but she was determined to change Lightning's working habits for the better.

Lightning was looking around her desk for a distraction, but when it was evident that there wasn't one, she smiled bashfully in a way that reminded Fang of Vanille whenever she got herself into a sticky situation.

"Correct," Lightning sighed, letting her head drop in defeat. "However, it _was_ the last thing I had left to do, and it was bugging me. I do however, have one or two more sentences to writes and we can do whatever you want."

She watched Lightning with her eyebrows high and mouth open in feigned shock as she pulled the file back out of the top drawer. "Put it back."

"Two more sentences, I promise." Lightning held her hands up, her right hand still holding the pen.

Fang took a few steps forward, stopping only when she came into contact with the desk. "Nope."

"One sentence then." Lightning spun her chair around and scribbled quickly. By the time Fang got round the other end of the desk, Lightning had spun the chair back around and had finished. "Happy now?"

Whatever that report was filled Fang with intrigue, especially since Lightning was so intent on hiding it. Draping herself across the chair and onto to Lightning's lap, she tried to catch a glimpse of the title.

The other woman must've anticipated this, as she threw the report back onto the table, and the words were nothing but a blur as they shot past her.

"You and this damn homework of yours," Fang huffed. "Give me a look, will you?"

A hand crept into her hair, playing thoughtfully at Fang's braids. "Why? It's all just boring Corps stuff from Amodar."

Still, boring or not, she wanted to have a peek. She reached for the file, and at the same time the soldier kicked them away from the desk. Fang clutched onto Light for dear life as she sent the two wheeling back into a wall.

The desk was far out of her reach now, but not if she moved quickly. "Okay, what're you hiding?"

"Nothing," Lightning insisted, burying he face into Fang's neck.

Had it not felt so pleasant, the huntress would have ignored this and grabbed the secretive document. Lightning's left hand wandered up and down Fang's back, using her other to direct Fang's line of sight to face her.

"Then let me see," Fang said, innocently smiling.

* * *

><p>Lightning couldn't tell if Fang was just being playful, because Fang could certainly break out of her current hold if she wanted to.<p>

Oerba was going to be repopulated by her suggestion, and she wanted the document submitted before telling Fang, ideally.

_What a great way to start our lives together, with one great secret._

_Distract her._ "I've been doing some thinking about the new living arrangements. Any idea how Vanille will take it?"

"Not a clue. A part of her will be pleased and yet, she'll be left alone. Ever since I've known her, we've been inseparable though. I know she'll be upset."

Fang rolled from her lap and found a distraction in a bookcase which was full of trinkets, than actual novels or study books. Lightning let her meddle; it was only some possessions from her old home. One of which was a marble jewellery box, and it was only when Fang lifted the lid she remembered they had spare handcuffs in.

"Wear these often, do you?" Fang asked, dangling a cuff from her finger.

Lightning crossed her arms and legs simultaneously. "Given my job, you're the one more likely to wear them. Back on topic however, it might be best to discuss things together. Dinner tonight perhaps?"

"Sounds good to me. If anyone has any questions, it means everyone is here to answer them. Now if only I could find Vanille and tell her."

Lightning wondered how Serah and Snow were getting on with their furniture shopping, hoping their tastes weren't bigger than their budget. Bills were probably her main worry when it came to Serah's survival without her.

Out of everyone Lightning was friends with, only she had what she would call a stable job. Not that she doubted anyone's ability to get one, but Snow and Fang had both taken up the opportunity to work for Lebreau at times, and that was only on a temporary basis.

Lightning leaned against her desk, looking over at Fang who was still busy with all her ornaments, although this time she flicked through an old family photo album.

"If it's alright with you I wanted to drop by Amodar's office and get this report handed in once and for all, and on the way back I'll pick up some things for the five of us." She managed to continue speaking before Fang interrupted. "I know you've only been here twenty minutes, but you should really find out where Vanille is."

Lightning could see that Fang wasn't ready to leave, but the Oerban shrugged her shoulders, replacing the album. "Fine you win."

With a quick peck, Fang left. This time Lightning made sure she was alone, watching the retreating woman trudge through snow from behind the blinds.

After checking over her report, and cringing especially at the last few messy lines she scribbled while Fang was present, Lightning headed to work.

There were no surprised faces when she entered the building, as the offices were like her second home. In fact, there weren't many faces present to be surprised.

This quiet theme continued when she knocked upon Amodar's office door, and she was surprised to find no one inside. The door wasn't open either, so she had to find someone she trusted who would pass on her work.

Just as Lightning was about to head in the opposite direction, a bright, girly giggling caught her attention, and she recognised it immediately.

"She never said you were a funny man- oh speak of the devil... Lightning."

Lightning blinked twice to make sure it was Vanille she was seeing, bobbing along with Amodar as he presumably returned to his office.

"Farron! What part of being off work don't you understand?" When he was close enough, Amodar patted her firmly on the arm, before standing down at her hands. "Eager to please as always… that's the report I've been waiting for, is it?"

"Yes sir." Lightning saluted anyway, ignoring how awkward it felt doing it around Vanille.

"Hey Lightning, I didn't expect you here either. I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here, huh?" Vanille smiled quickly, biting her thumbnail.

"Just a bit," Lightning admitted. She thought Amodar would wait until she'd reported in before enlisting the help of a Gran Pulse native.

"I got Amodar's letter early this morning and thought I'd call in, since Fang was fast asleep. You've been working on relocating people, I hear."

Lightning watched the smaller girl carefully, noting her discomfort. Was Vanille hoping that Lightning wouldn't be around?

"Fang was wondering where you were actually," Lightning said, trying to sound unsuspecting.

Vanille had been gone a long time if she really had dashed off to visit Amodar once she got the letter. No wonder Fang couldn't find her. She found it strange that Vanille hadn't left a note, especially as the letter would've been addressed to both of them.

"I'll let the two of you get on." Lightning handed the file to Amodar, ducking her head respectfully as he took it. "And before I forget Vanille, I'm making dinner for the five of us later, so come round anytime."

The redhead's expression faltered slightly. "Oh! Sounds lovely."

It took a split second for Lightning to realise that Serah must've painted a terrible picture of how her cooking tasted. "I know what you're thinking. Just because Serah says she's the better cook, doesn't mean I can't cook at all."

Vanille scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "_Sure._ I might have a big lunch just in case… I'm kidding!"

Lightning's mock glare quickly shifted to a genuine smile, and she gave a small laugh. "You better be. See you soon."

She jangled her keys as she walked; occasionally throwing them in the air with a small flick of her wrist as she thought about how strange Vanille was acting. Maybe it was the likeness to her sister; the two seemed to share a certain look, one that she always associated with guilt when Serah did it. Dinner would be interesting.

* * *

><p>Confident neither Farron would tell her off; Fang tossed a piece of raw carrot into her mouth, followed by a handful of onion, turnip, and peppers.<p>

She was starving, and both Lightning and Serah had just had a 'mild' disagreement on who should cook, despite it being Lightning's idea in the first place.

"You'd think she'd want Lightning to cook, surely?" Vanille sighed, collapsing against the kitchen table dramatically.

Snow was perhaps the least bothered about all this, dipping his hand into a box of cornflakes and munching on it as if it were popcorn. "No way. Serah hates it when Lightning tries to cook, because she does it differently." His grave tone lightened slightly, "when we move out, I might never have to cook my own food ever again."

"And then you might forget how," Vanille chimed in. "And resort to snacking when Serah's not around and get really fat when you're older."

Fang almost choked on her mouthful at the thought of Snow being fat. It just didn't seem possible, not after seeing how well built he was when they all took refuge at Hope's house.

"I do both now anyway," Snow shrugged. "Besides, no one's getting fat anytime soon if they don't come back and cook it."

Overhead they heard shrieking laughter followed by a catastrophic crash. The trio exchanged confused looks.

"We could just do it for them?" Vanille suggested, but as Fang reached out towards the chopping board she grasped nothing.

"Oh shit, guys. I've eaten it all."

Snow laughed, looking relieved to be grabbing his phone from his pocket. "Pizza it is then."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It's alllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiive.**


	11. Chapter 10: Part B

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 10: Part B**

* * *

><p>Lightning picked herself off the floor having just face planted it. Her foot throbbed from clipping the dresser in Serah's room, which had resulted in the contents of a makeup bag raining down upon her head.<p>

Now not only had her sister mocked her cooking efforts, _stopped_ her cooking efforts, but now there was injury added to insult. "You can stop that madwoman laughter right now."

Thank Etro no one else had seen because Serah was curled up in a ball on her bed, rolling uncontrollably with laughter at her pain and graceless fall. Lightning grimaced at the lingering soreness, shifting to a seated position to rub her toes. She had been hurt worse than this in battle, but damn did it hurt.

"Oh," Serah could only seem to manage, wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh sis, that was brilliant."

"I don't understand how you ran so fast holding a pan full of chicken." Lightning narrowed her eyes; realising said frying pan was gone from her grip. "What've you done with it?"

Serah winced, pointing towards the main bathroom that she had ran into before ending up in her room. "I kinda dropped the chicken in the bathtub."

There was no way she was hearing this correctly but then this was her sister she was talking about, who had become tainted by the antics of Vanille, and such things weren't beyond the redhead.

"So dinner is ruined?" she asked rhetorically. She didn't have the energy to get any thing more than irked. If Serah was truly bothered about Lightning cooking, she would stay at home forever. She wondered how well Fang could cook, because it looked like Serah had little faith in her abilities.

Lightning strained her ears, but she could only hear the low hum of Snow through the floorboards. The trio downstairs were undoubtedly quieter than usual, and probably listening to what was happening.

"Well, you could just give the chicken a rinse – I was joking!"

_How many times are people going to joke with me today? _Lightning thought, picking herself and Serah's makeup from the floor.

"This isn't just any random get together, Serah." Her sister sat up abruptly, suddenly hushed and thoughtful. After what had been going on lately in her life, it didn't take a genius to figure out what her news might be referring to. "But I'd still like to hear about your day. I can't believe you move out tomorrow."

Lightning made her way to the bathroom where Serah had ran into earlier, peeking over the side of the bath to see the food she slaved over lying cold and wet in the tub. She'd leave that one to Serah as punishment for ruining her efforts. She spotted the frying pan, which had been left on the floor by the sink. That she would take.

Heavy clomping footsteps made their way up the stairs, stopping just halfway, and both sisters stepped out onto the landing to see Snow. He waved his phone screen at them then pointed at the empty pan in Lightning's hand. "Worry not, ladies. Pizza is on its way."

Although everyone wanted to lounge around in more comfortable chairs in the sitting room, Light included, she forced them to sit at the kitchen table. Since she had invited them all round for what was essentially a meeting, she thought they ought to sit in a rough circle like you'd expect. That, and she didn't trust some of them not to drop food on the carpet or on her cushions. She was yet to fully forgive the huge mess from the New Year's Eve party.

Their food had arrived fifteen or so minutes ago – Serah paid – and the first few minutes at the table were spent eating in silence. Lightning picked a slice with the most toppings from the closest box, sitting back with a low groan as the taste hit her tongue.

Snow had a novel way of eating; taking three different slices, lying them on top of each other to create a sandwich. Anything to get more into his gob. He swallowed what he had. "We bought a hell of a lot of stuff today… the assistant's eyes practically lit up when we told him we weren't just browsing."

"Of course, the only thing Snow was really interested in was buying electrical stuff," Serah said, shaking her head but smiling. "But of course we'll just be using the television from my room. Since. It. Works. Fine. Snow."

Lightning smiled softly, trying to see the silver lining. "At least I'll have a spare room to play with. Need any help moving more stuff across?"

"Hmm. I think we're okay for now, but I'll call you. You'll still be off tomorrow right?"

"Yes, of course."

From the corner of her eye Fang lifted a glass to her lips and took her drink. She found herself staring longer than normal, but she realised now, she was allowed to. Fang was hers.

"So," Serah began, wiping her hands on a paper towel and disturbing Lightning's indulgent stare. "You said upstairs that this was no ordinary get together."

All eyes were on her now, and several weeks ago she might have wanted the ground to swallow her up. Fang flashed her a smile from the other end of the table, leaning forward and grabbing her hands.

The simple connection sent confidence surging through her like Fang was some sort of power outlet. Their eyes never left each other, and that was what told her she wasn't making a mistake.

"I've asked Fang to move in with me."

* * *

><p>Fang squeezed Lightning's hands the second the words left her mouth. It was the only way she could express how proud she was right now as words failed to form in her throat.<p>

The younger Farron sister clapped her hands together and pressed them to her lips. "Wow, really? I… I can't believe it. This is brilliant news!"

"You don't know if I said yes first," Fang joked. "Not that I'd ever decline, because she might kill me otherwise."

Her soldier girl was biting her lip, looking more embarrassed at the attention they were receiving than from deep-seated shame. Lightning would probably disagree if Fang told her, but she'd definitely grown as a person in her eyes.

As Serah and Snow hounded Lightning, Fang turned to Vanille who had been the quietest through the exchange. "You alright, Van?"

Whatever spell the redhead was under broke when Fang addressed her, and she shook her head quickly as she came back into the present. She looked up at Fang with eyes like a frightened animal.

"I'm really happy for you Fang! Lightning too!"

She smiled, but Fang wasn't convinced. And Vanille knew it too, her chair skidding back noisily as she dismissed herself for the bathroom.

The rest of the table looked on, just as taken aback from the sudden movement.

"I knew she'd get upset eventually," Fang jabbed the heel of her hands into her eyes to ward off any tears. "But I thought she'd be happy about us first."

"Oh don't worry, Fang." Serah rubbed her arm soothingly. "I've spoken to Vanille countless times and she knew all this was going to happen eventually. Deep down she is happy for you. For you both."

"Go get her," Lightning said, all evidence of elation gone from her face, to be replaced by sympathy. "We're not talking about this anymore until she's here with us."

There was no need to find Vanille, as she appeared in the doorway with a wad of tissues under her nose. "It's alright, I'm here."

"I'll make us some drinks, shall I?" Serah grabbed one of the empty pizza boxes as she stood.

And once everyone had a hot drink in hand, the mood lightened considerably. Although Vanille was still sniffing, she showed no signs that she would get upset again.

"I _am_ happy for you," she reiterated, and this time it sounded sincere. She held the mug in both hands, creating a barrier between herself and everyone else. "Please don't let me stop you from moving out, because I know what you're like. You always sacrifice your own happiness for me, and now I'm returning the favour."

Fang dragged her chair closer and pulled Vanille in for a side hug, touching her forehead to the top of her sister's head. "Don't be stupid. There hasn't been a single day that I've been unhappy by your side, you know that?"

"Fang hasn't taken this decision lightly, Vanille," Lightning chipped in. "I understand how you must feel because I'm going through the same feelings with Serah."

Fang felt Vanille take a steadying breath. "I will be fine on my own."

Although furthest away, Snow leaned over enough for his fingertips to reach Vanille's leg. "And it's not like any of us are far, right guys? There's always room for you with me and Serah when you want to stay."

"And here," Lightning added.

Fang sat back truly amazed by their friends and family; although her coffee warmed her hands, their closeness warmed her heart. There was no way that Vanille would take a sideline in her life, just because she wasn't going to be in the same house. Lightning hadn't given her an exact date of when she was allowed to move in, but it wouldn't be right away.

The dark winter's day crept into a dark winter's night almost without notice for the household. To Fang it appeared that Vanille had lightened up a little, although the sadness still remained in her eyes at times, what was important was that she was laughing and smiling along with everyone.

Fang settled down for the night in the living room, staring at the flickering fire with a drunken-like gaze. Currently pinned on the sofa from the legs down by a dozing Vanille, she idly stroked the girl's hair since she couldn't do much else.

Together they had taken up two-thirds of one sofa, leaving Lightning to suffer with a pair of restless feet in the last third. Up until the last half hour, Serah and Snow had occupied the other seat, so her decision on where to sit wasn't hard. Now there was a seat free, and no one could move.

"Her feet are freezing," Lightning commented, shifting uncomfortably. "You might want to get her to bed."

Fang paused her movements, noticing the time. "Yeah, good idea. I'm starting to lose the feeling in my legs."

Hooking her arms under the girl, she slowly lifted the girl up. She would regret falling asleep in her everyday clothes. Turning on the lights, Lightning followed behind as she took the girl to bed.

The spare room always smelt of flowers and held a few more trinkets than what Lightning's room did, but it showed that despite the infrequent use, a guest was always welcome. Once Fang got a say in running the household, she'd certainly cater to Vanille.

"Are you sleeping in here tonight or…?" Lightning asked from the doorway, standing with her right arm bent holding her left elbow, almost bashful.

Fang pulled the covers over the redhead, looking at the ample amount of space left in the double bed, before looking back to Lightning. "I'd love to, but after today I think this one would appreciate having me here."

Lightning rocked on the spot before nodding in understanding. "That's fine. I mean it's not like we haven't got a lifetime of bed sharing to look forward to."

It was only when Lightning left did she instantly regret her decision. Vanille was asleep. Lightning was awake. And you couldn't entertain a sleeping person.

"Sorry Van, I'll be back I swear," she whispered, tiptoeing out of the room and shutting the door.

* * *

><p>The room was so dark, Vanille couldn't tell if she had her eyes closed or not. Her jumper itched, and her tights didn't feel right on her skin when under the covers. But worse than that was the wetness in her eyes and the tightness in her chest that had erupted instantaneously, because it felt like she had been betrayed.<p>

Although she'd faked the last stages of tiredness downstairs, it was only now she wanted to blame actual fatigue from a long day in the Guardian Corps office on her mood.

Fang said she'd return later and that's what she'd do, Vanille had faith in that.

She woke up alone.


	12. Chapter 11

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 11**

* * *

><p>Fang wasn't sure what was colder - her bare feet on the tiled kitchen floor or Vanille's response when she wished her good morning. Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed.<p>

Grabbing a glass of orange juice, Vanille was careful not to show Fang her face, which was helped by her having her hair down. "Hey," Fang tried. The noise that escaped didn't sound as natural as she hoped.

Wearing her full attire for the day, Vanille looked ready to leave Lightning's house at a moment's notice, wearing a multitude of layers excluding outerwear. In several gulps, the fruit juice was gone and the empty glass placed in the dishwasher with a few other dishes.

Arms folded, Fang sauntered close behind her as Vanille made her way upstairs. "Did you sleep well?"

"Did you sleep at all?" the redhead quipped, sounding deceptively blithe.

The door to the spare room closed on Fang's face, leaving the huntress alone on the landing. The draught that followed sent shivers up her arms, and she rubbed her forearm sheepishly, warming them only slightly. So Vanille was definitely still upset from yesterday and the big news.

Although she was fully dressed inside, Fang knocked and waited. "Van, come on. Don't act like this, _please_."

There were no replies from the girl, just distinctively angry noises; a drawer slammed too hard, and many unladylike grunts.

Lightning's bedroom door opened at the commotion, and out popped a curious head complete with ruffled bed hair. "What's going on?"

"Terrible timing, Light," Fang uttered in low tones. "Please just hide away until I've spoken to her."

There was another bang from down the hallway, and Lightning's hand tightened around the door. "If she breaks anything I'm interfering."

"Good girl," Fang joked, ruffling Light's spiky hair, only to make it worse.

Lightning grabbed her hand before she could do any more damage, shooting her a customary sober look. "Trust me, you want to nip this in the bud as soon as possible. You never know what could change between now and a few months' time."

Another bedroom door shut on Fang before she could get a word in. Why would she _say_ something like that?

Wasting no more time, Fang let herself into the spare room to confront Vanille. They didn't argue much, but when disputes arose it usually involved few exchanges and plenty of tension-filled rooms of silence.

Instead she was met with a full-bodied embrace with enough force to knock her a couple of steps backwards. "Whoa!" She wasn't expecting that at all. Vanille usually put up a fight. Her hand instinctively cups the back of the smaller girl's head, bringing Vanille impossibly tighter. "Are you crying?"

The head pressed to her collarbone nods somewhat, and it feels as though someone's extracted her heart and left nothing but a hole. Suddenly, moving out wasn't having its same appeal as before.

"I'm sorry. I'm being selfish."

"Don't be stupid," Fang pushed the bedroom door closed to give them privacy. "We've never really spoken about this in much detail, have we? If this was the other way around, I'd be just as upset. So don't worry about it. I will still be around, I'll still visit… everyday if you let me."

They sat on the edge of the bed. Vanille wiped away stray tears with the back of her hand, trying to compose herself and stop the involuntary jerks her body made. "I'm not going to be here for you to visit."

"What?" Fang frowned.

The redhead hopped from the bed and paced the space between the door and chest of drawers, clasping her hands as if she were praying. "I won't be around for you to visit… I'm, I'm going to Oerba."

Oerba. It was in her name, it was in her blood, and it was in her dreams and nightmares. Fang remained sitting, unsure what her sister even meant.

"Going to Oerba… _alone?_" She felt like a parent trying to squeeze out information at that point. Fang definitely had the urge to scold Vanille bubbling away inside her. "Vanille, for the love of Etro, answer me."

"With a unit," Vanille replied. "Amodar wants an experienced guide to help as they search for a suitable, inhabitable place to relocate more Cocoon survivors."

Fang huffed. "Yes, but why _you?_ Why _Oerba?_"

If anyone had the most experience, it was her, Oerba Yun Fang! Why Amodar chose Vanille for an expedition was beyond her, especially when he could have had them both.

There was a small change in Vanille's demeanour, a twitch in both her eyes and one corner of her mouth. Although her face still held shiny tear streaks, the thought of crying again looked like a far away thought.

"Everything really does have to be about you, doesn't it?" She silenced Fang with a seething look, one that could boil a pan within seconds. "Why _not_ me? Why _not_ Oerba? We aren't the only ones inhabiting Gran Pulse anymore, Fang! This opportunity is perfect for me, don't you realise? You and Lightning have sprung this shocking news on me, leaving me in the lurch."

"Vanille..."

"Let me finish!" Vanille panted. Her earlier, prayer-like hand gesture had transformed into fists, held tightly by her side. "If I'm going to be on my own, then I might as well be doing some good."

Now it was Fang who wanted to cry. She turned her head towards the dresser for a distraction, noticing that there was actually a photo frame perched there. Both Farron sisters looked as young as Hope in the picture.

Sisters.

Vanille.

Serah.

This situation was almost identical to the one Lightning was experiencing with Serah moving in with Snow. How many times had Fang sided with Serah in order to make Lightning see how selfish she was being?

Breaking the silence of the room and the contrasting havoc in Fang's head, Vanille said, "I'll see you at home."

"No, hang on." Fang shook her head, feeling somewhat dazed yet enlightened at the same time. "We're sorting this here and now."

Miraculously Vanille loitered, yet it became apparent when Lightning strode into view that it hadn't been for Fang's sake.

With Lightning blocking the door, the only possible exit was the window, and it surely wouldn't come to that. It was hard to see the evidence of their many years of friendship and sisterhood through the uncertainty of fate etched on Vanille's face.

"I can't have you miles away under… under _Cocoon's_ protection." The term 'Viper' floated around in her mind, but with Lightning present, Fang only just caught herself from a slip up. "Look at how bad a shot they were when we were against them as l'Cie? If a Cie'th attacked, do you honestly think they'll kill it?"

The redhead's fists balled, and her jaw set. Had it not been for Vanille's inadequate size, it might have been formidable. She looked to Lightning stationed at the door, then to Fang, then most alarmingly the window.

"I fought too, Fang."

"Yeah, with the help of magic. Last time I checked, you don't have that anymore."

"I really want to strangle you right now," Vanille seethed, jabbing a finger towards Fang. "If you recall, Fang, PSICOM had manadrives. And they worked just as well."

Forgetting the fact annoyed the Pulsian, as it gave Vanille a minor victory over Fang that only assisted in growing Vanille's confidence on the matter.

Not only that, but Fang's pause was a moment too long, leaving Vanille to make the next move.

"Let me past Lightning, I'm off home."

Backing quickly against the doorframe, the soldier only just moved in time as Vanille stormed off. "See you at Serah's still?"

Vanille's response to Lightning was too low and quiet for Fang to hear.

Grabbing the nearest pillow, Fang roared her frustrations into it, but it didn't ease a thing. Nor did punching it repeatedly. With a small _poof_, a handful of delicate, white feathers sprang into the air. Fang threw the pillow back, before throwing on another shirt from the floor.

"If you think you're going after Vanille when you're this angry, you've got another thing coming," Lightning said, physically stopping Fang from putting on any more clothes.

"Don't stop me, Light. I need to sort this."

"Sort yourself out first." Lightning grabbed her wrist, holding Fang in place. "Garage, now."

"What?"

Still held by the wrist, Lightning pulled Fang towards the door, forcing her to lead. "The garage is where I do all my workouts. Come."

At that mention, Fang instantly remembered their time in Sazh's garage, mixing drinking games with what ended up as their daftest spar yet. It had been one of her favourite moments; exchanging drunken blows with a mop and broom, and even her trip on paint cans was up there in her fond memories list.

Still leading the way downstairs, Fang said, "I'm ready to punch a hole in the wall, Light. The last thing I want is to do the same to your face."

Fang was given a not-so-gentle push down the stairs, causing her to miss the first step. "As if you'd land a hit as good as that on me. What I have planned will take you down a peg, Fang."

Despite it being morning, the garage was still dark. With the flick of a switch, florescent blinked to life, filling the room with a small _hum_.

Unlike the house, the garage wasn't warm. It was just tidy, if not a tad dusty. Whereas Sazh's garage was filled with car parts and general D.I.Y. gear, Lightning evidently used the space as a personal gym.

There were two punching bags, one tethered to its stand, the other lying unused in a cobweb-less corner.

The floor was concrete, though it could have passed as a solid sheet of ice. Fang regretted leaving the bedroom without any socks, as her toes were quickly replaced with ice cubes. Even that time she walked outside barefoot to collect Lightning wasn't as bad as this.

"Forget it, Lightning. It's bloody freezing." But just as Fang turned to leave, the door back inside quickly closed on her. "What the fuck? Come on! Let me back inside."

She beat against the door with the flat of her hand. Did Lightning mean for her to literally cool off? If anything, this was making Fang feel worse.

After nothing but silence from Lightning's end, Fang attempted an escape by opening the actual garage door. To no surprise, it was too frozen.

Attention now drawn to the punching bag, Fang figured it was as good a time as any to throw a few punches.

* * *

><p>Lightning wasn't thoroughly enjoying her treatment towards Fang. It was something her training officer used to do with unruly, hot-tempered recruits, and something she rarely used herself at work.<p>

Positive that Fang couldn't flee, unless she planned on damaging her property, Lightning made herself a hot drink and some toast. All the while, Fang's attack on her punching bag failed to let up. In fact, the sound of each impact became increasingly harder and more rapid, followed by grunts and swearing.

Lightning leaned close to the door, trying to catch some of the words.

"_Fuck_…" The chain holding the bag rattled noisily."_Oerba. Fuck… all."_

The clock on her wall said Fang had been in their for twenty five minutes in total. Usually recruits tired out after ten minutes, and whinged to be let back into the warmth. But obviously not Fang.

Opening the door quietly, Lightning took a peek.

The next hit from Fang rocked the punching bag so that it nearly tipped. This was evidently not working. Another idea danced around in her mind, perhaps the cruellest thing she could think off without causing physical harm.

From under the sink she pulled out the majority of her bleaches and dusters, reaching for the washing up bowl that had fallen to the very back of the cupboard. After fetching fresh snow from outside, Lightning filled the rest of the bucket with icy cold water.

"Are you going to let Vanille go through with it then?" Lightning asked, opening the door slightly once again.

Keeping her back to Lightning, Fang slowed her punches to speak, shoulders heaving up and down in sharp bursts. "I don't want to see Oerba repopulated. Anywhere but there."

"So, that's a no just Oerba then?"

"It's a no to her going at all."

It was the signal Lightning needed - that Fang was still angry. She opened the door wider, balancing the heavy plastic container on one knee, trying to keep out of Fang's peripheral.

"Going back during our l'Cie days was hurtful enough," Fang shouted over her shoulder, still giving the gym equipment ninety-percent of her attention. "And Vanille of all people should know what it feels like. She is not fucking going. She is not fucking go—"

At this point Fang had noticed Lightning's slow advance on her, only seconds too late. Lightning heaved the plastic bowl's entire contents of icy water over Fang, who shuddered and gasped.

Only a few strands of untamed hair missed the drenching, covering any furious expression on her face. Fang's clothes were dark and heavy, sticking mostly to her shoulders.

"Another one of your 'cooling off' attempts, is it?" Fang said, wiping her dripping hair from her face.

Kicking the dish aside, Lightning crossed her arms. Fang's tone made it difficult to tell if she was still angry. "You had it coming."

Fang laughed sarcastically, peeling the first shirt from her arms. The t-shirt underneath was just as wet, as droplets still ran down her skin.

"Just like you had this coming," Fang said, wringing the water out of her clothes over Lightning's head.

Ducking for cover didn't work, as wet arms grabbed her and hoisted Lightning off her feet.

"Whatever you're planning, I'm warning you…" In the background she heard her home phone ring. "That'll be Serah. For the love of Etro, Fang put me down!"

The tight hold on her didn't release for long as she threw Lightning over her shoulder, Lightning had her suspicions that this was Fang's favourite way of carrying her.

Clawing at door frames didn't help Lightning's plight much, as Fang would just tickle her sides enough for her to let go. Step by step, Fang led them upstairs and into the bathroom.

The torture ended when Fang dropped her unceremoniously into the bathtub, twisting the cold tap as far as it would go.

"I'm still annoyed," Fang told her, trying out a weak smile. "But thank you."

Lightning gasped. The water shocking all words out of her body momentarily. "Any... anytime, Fang. You know that."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I ended a 4 month hiatus with the ever popular ice bucket challenge. Apologies everyone, but I am here ^^**


	13. Chapter 12

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 12**

* * *

><p>Leaving Fang to dry off properly, Lightning seized the opportunity to phone ahead and see how Vanille was getting on. Although the smaller Pulsian had been slightly dishonest with Fang, so had Lightning herself. Amodar had asked her about suitable relocation points, and Lightning had offered up Oerba as if it was hers to begin with.<p>

Vanille surprised her in that she hadn't mentioned Lightning's involvement in the relocation plans. And she wanted to know why.

"_Hello?"_ There was a definite sniffle down the other end of the phone. _"It better be you, Lightning, because I have no time for Fang right now."_

"It is, it is." Lightning said, keeping her voice low. "Don't worry. How're you feeling?"

"_I cried the entire way home," _Vanille bravely admitted. _"Some of my tears froze on my face, it is that cold outside."_

"I'm sorry Vanille. If it's any consolation I soaked Fang with cold water like she was a bad dog." Above her, Lightning could hear Fang move from the bathroom, prompting her to quickly advance the conversation. "Listen, you've probably seen my name stamped all over the damn documents, so I just wanted to thank you."

Lightning got the impression that Vanille was wandering as they spoke. At the very least, she was playing with an object or two, judging by the annoying, repetitive noise from the other end.

The incessant clamour stopped. "_Thank me? For what, exactly? Not being mad?"_

Oh Etro, she had to be quick. Fang was not one for bothering to do anything with her unruly hair, if their adventures were anything to go by. Not that her hair looked tameable, but Fang would certainly come downstairs with wet locks and hear everything.

"Those documents Amodar would have given you had my signature all over it."

"_Oh, _that_. I'm not mad Lightning, I actually think it's a good idea."_

"Yes, but you haven't told Fang that this whole thing started with me. I… I appreciate it, but why haven't you?"

There was enough pause to make Lightning worry about the reply. So much so, that she held her breath without realising, until Vanille said, "_Because none of this is your fault, Light. You did what you had to do. There's no point in Fang being livid with the both of us. If you do admit it to her soon, she'd not be as let down by you. I know that much."_

"You're always welcome at the Guardian Corps if you wanted some space away from Fang. Just explain it to Amodar, he's accommodating enough."

_"Should I..."_

Lightning hung up, cutting their conversation short when Fang entered, and she played off the whole thing as a cold caller.

The edges of Fang's hair were slightly damp, but otherwise she looked her usual, annoyingly stunning self. "We ready to set off?"

"Sure," Light replied, hiding the phone behind her back slightly. Fang tossed Lightning's taupe trench coat over to her, throwing a red scarf at her a little less gently in the face. "Ouch. Thanks, I think."

* * *

><p>With the exception of the temperature in Lightning's garage, it was otherwise quite a warm day. Wearing more clothes probably attributed to that fact, but Fang didn't feel the need for gloves today, not when her little soldier permitted public hand holding on their way to Serah and Snow's new place.<p>

It was just as well, as the tread on Fang's boots weren't the best, and the extra support stopped her from falling either flat on her face or her backside. Lightning still wore gloves, but they were unlike most of the boring ones Fang had seen being sold over the period drawing up to Christmas. These gloves could be fingerless _and_ mittens, and she had to admit, when they weren't acting as mittens, they looked pretty cool. Come next Christmas, she would have to ask for a pair.

By the time they were just twenty minutes into moving furniture for the happy couple, the gloves were off. Whereas Serah had organised her belongings in terms of what room they belonged to, Snow had just boxed everything using the 'will it fit?'category.

There was a large clatter of metal and curses behind Fang, who held two gym bags worth of Snow's clothes into. The box Lightning had been carrying completely fell away from the bottom.

"You alright?" Fang called back, laughter edging its way into her voice. "Nothing heavy fell on you did it?"

Shoving the mangled cardboard box aside, Lightning shot the fallen weights and boxing gloves a dirty look. "Yeah, fine," she clipped. "He put heavy weights into a flimsy box, and I nearly broke my foot because of it."

The heavier dumbbells had sank through the softer snow and practically disappeared. Switching to carrying both gym bags with one hand, Fang picked the nearest dumbbell from the snow. "I think I'll take this before you aim it at the big lug."

Lightning smirked. "You know me too well."

Keeping their efficient relay going, Lightning wandered to the back of the van that was parked just off the curb, whilst Fang met her half way to bring inside. Fang's body was like a radiator by the time she dragged more of Snow's apparatus in with Snow himself, and she considered removing a layer.

"Are you sure you haven't stolen most of this stuff from Gadot?" Fang managed to grunt, as they clumsily pushed, pulled, and manoeuvred a fridge next.

She was pleased to see just as much strain on Snow's red face, because it meant she was keeping up. Using the rest of their strength the two former sentinels just managed to reach their destination.

"Of course not," Snow said, trying to wipe his forehead through his bandana. "I bought this beast of a thing myself. Cost an arm and a leg, I tell you."

Shaking off the pain in her arms wasn't working as well as Fang hoped. "Yes, but how? I know fine well you aren't loaded. You told me you've only ever had casual jobs."

Fang let Snow rotate the fridge into place. The question was rather personal, so she didn't want to appear like she was pressurising him into an answer.

"I sold my velocycle," he began, checking around for Serah. "That much Serah knows. A velocycle enthusiast approached me, asking if I would sign the bike, because then it would be worth a lot more."

Fang was impressed; she never thought cashing in on l'Cie fame would reap so much money.

"And… I may have sold my side of the story about our journey. I met a couple of reporters during one lunchtime, so I thought, 'why not?'"

"Wasn't there a Cocoon thingy placed on people like that?"

"You mean a restraining order?"

When the notion of a restraining order was explained to Fang for the first time, she laughed at how strange it was. "Yeah that." Cocoon people settled their problems with threats of 'legal action', whereas Fang would just promise dismemberment.

Snow looked relieved not be judged or shouted at. "They aren't allowed to approach us, but after chatting to them, I offered. Don't get me wrong, Lightning does let me stay at hers, but she doesn't like the place me and Gadot share, because everyone from NORA tends to crash there anyway. But I guess what I'm trying to say is I want to be with Serah without having to live under the roof and rules of someone else."

Fang nodded slowly, taking it all in. It must have been hard for Snow putting up with Lightning's rules. Despite everyone being adults, Serah and Snow were practically forced to adhere to her wishes, simply because it was her house.

It was practically Fang's newfound responsibility to help Lightning wind down.

"Don't know how you did it for so long, big guy," Fang said honestly. There was a low whirr as the fridge came to life, and Snow opened the door to check the light was on. "She was running your life as if she was the mother of both of you, yeah?"

Lightning coughed to alert the kitchen of her presence.

* * *

><p>It was amusing to see Fang whip round quickly, looking like a child caught red-handed in the cookie jar. Snow's grin was equally wide and suspicious, but Lightning planned to play dumb. Without knowing it, what Fang had just said rang true for the both of them.<p>

Didn't the hardheaded fool realise?

"Wait a minute Snow, is that a brand new fridge?" Although the man was close to being the size of the appliance, his body didn't quite hide the cellophane or the greaseless sheen. "Did you steal that from Gadot?" Fang began to laugh at her remark, forcing Lightning to clasp a palm over her mouth. "Snow?"

"I bought it."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "With one kidney or both?"

Again, Fang spluttered, but this time it was into Lightning's hand. There was no ignoring that; she had to wipe her hand.

"I bought it with my own money, Light." Snow refused to move from his position of shielding the fridge. "Serah?" he called out. "I think I'm gonna need your backup."

The Oerban immediately stepped between them. "Grow a pair, Snow. She's harmless, really. And you, Light, don't start getting all dubious. He sold his velocycle to fund his new life with Serah."

Lightning rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I told you I'd help furnish the place, Snow. You don't need fridges that cost about 2000 gil."

"Claire!" Serah's displeasure rang through the entire kitchen. "Please don't start a fight."

Her jaw clenched before she could even stop herself. There wasn't anything wrong with her old forename, but it wasn't her anymore. Why she still allowed Serah to refer to her as such was a mystery and a weakness.

She wondered if Serah would honour anything she said, like if she suddenly asked to be referred to with male pronouns.

_Deep breath, Light. You're over thinking things._

As time stretched on the unpacking stopped completely. Fang had been quiet the later it got and Lightning knew why, therefore wasn't surprised when Fang piped up.

"I thought Vanille was gonna be here." Fang frowned against the sparkling new fridge.

"She did promise," Serah reiterated for the millionth time, before shooing Fang off of her new appliance.

The huntress then leaned on the counter, arms folded in a 'don't invade my space' sort of way. "Yeah well, can someone call her? She'll not pick up if it's me."

Lightning stayed quiet and waited for Serah to do the calling.

Vanille did not answer.

* * *

><p>A week had gone by without Vanille getting in touch with any of them. As much as it pained Lightning to keep her location a secret, she knew the separation would do them some good, she knew Vanille and Fang would have a stronger bond for it.<p>

Fang wouldn't admit it at first, but every time she was not with Lightning, she was out traipsing through the elements looking for Vanille at her regular haunts. And every time Fang left fruitless in her finds, Lightning would get worried phone calls, mostly from Lebreau.

And the fourth time Light caught Fang treading snow through her house after another one of these 'long walks', she was hit with a stroke of genius.

Fang needed a purpose in her life, something to do. And Lightning had just thought of it. It had taken more to persuade Fang to join her, than for Amodar to take on board her idea.

* * *

><p>"What's happening over there?" Fang enquired as they walked from the staff car park, which was a wind trap, sending hair and scarf ends flailing. They day was grey, and overcast, which suited Fang's mood for the past seven days perfectly.<p>

Far in the distance, through the tough wire fence, Fang could just make out the shape of small warships like the ones that accompanied the Palemecia, a fal'Cie turned airship by the Sanctum. No doubt the Guardian Corps wanted to explore Gran Pulse, to see all it had to offer, and Fang couldn't blame them. The environments it had to offer were rich in natural and man-made landmarks, amongst other things.

Too bad those people would never experience it on the back of Bahamut himself.

Lightning didn't spare a glance at what she was referring to. "They'll be going to an outpost, no doubt."

"You mean they've got outposts they're already scouting from, and they wanted Vanille for when they head off to Oerba too? Why don't they focus on one particular thing at a time?"

Lightning paused before replying, "It's just about keeping to tight time limits."

They passed through automatic doors, trailing wet, dirty footprints onto a tiled floor from the lack of doormat. The corridors here were short and didn't branch off into elaborate mazes, meaning the reception was easy to navigate.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." Even out of uniform, Lightning didn't need an introduction.

"Good afternoon," Lightning nodded in reply, before jerking her head in Fang's direction. "I'll need a visitors' pass."

As the man behind the screen reached for a lanyard, Fang muttered, "I didn't sign in last time I visited."

"Well you should've."

"The guy was deep into his crossword, I didn't want to disturb him." In fact, the more Fang studied the man behind the glass, the more she began to think it was the same person.

"You could've been kicked out without a pass. Or worse, detained."

Before the pass was handed over, the Oerban was required to sign in. Undecided on which signature to use, Fang wrote her name in both the Pulsian and Cocoon alphabet across the dotted line.

"Show off." There was a briefest of winks, which Fang almost missed. She wasn't even sure Lightning realised she'd done it.

"Did you just?" Fang was probably looking at her like she was smothered in chocolate. "Do that again, I really liked that."

Lightning's body language screamed discomfort, crossing her arms and looking away from Fang slightly. Was she embarrassed? It was quite charming.

"Do what again? I didn't do anything."

Fang pinched Light's already red cheek. "Oh yes you did! You winked, and I think my knees have gone weak."

As Fang reached out to Lightning again, the other woman playfully pushed her aside, starting up a game of innocent shoving. It was the little things like this that always cheered Fang up, especially coming from an outwardly cold woman like Lightning.

She chanced another harmless shunt of her shoulder, and Lightning didn't hesitate to react back, only this time there was a bit more force. Fang brushed the wall.

"You're gonna knock me through an office wall if you're not careful."

Lightning offered nothing but a sideline glance, pretending not to have noticed. "Toughen up, sentinel. You're obviously rubbing off on me."

"In more ways than one, sweetheart."

Lightning went a even redder.

With a swift swipe of a key card, they entered through a double door into a large open room, with a ceiling high enough to fit at least two eidolons stacked on top of each other. Central to the room was a large training mat, and bordering each of the four walls around them were a plethora of equipment, most of which looked far too complex to use.

"They think that the bigger a piece of apparatus is, the better." Lightning pointed to one particular contraption that resembled an item of torture more than anything. "Of course, nothing can train you better than actual experience, and being on the run on the wilds of Gran Pulse, forced to survive."

Fang idly ran her tongue across the edge of her teeth, flicking her attention between what was being said and the mystery of why they were in this room particularly. It was like being on a tour; especially with the way Lightning was now speaking.

Loud, pronounced, authoritative, Lightning was addressing the entire room, not just Fang. Perhaps she was influenced by it being her place of work, but Fang couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

"You wanted me to come here for a reason, Light. Are you trying to tell me something?" Fang patted her flat stomach, unaffected by the easy temptation of food and laziness during winter.

Lightning chuckled, pleased Fang had some gist of why they were here. She eyed her up and down before replying, "No, but wouldn't it fun?"

Fang's eyebrow quirked at the insinuation, managing to keep the rest of her face straight. Gesturing widely towards the training mat Fang smirked, "Are you suggesting we spar? I'm classing this as an unofficial date."

Lightning's eyes sparkled. "Changing room's that way."

* * *

><p>Lightning handed her a spare pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt from her locker, and Fang accepted the items of clothing as if they were made of precious gemstones. Of course Lightning didn't expect her to spar in her outdoor wear or in tight clothing, but it smelt vaguely of washing powder and a floral fragrance that probably resided in her locker.<p>

The room was just as open as the gym, with no cubicles for privacy other than the toilets and the showers, and despite already knowing what Lightning looked like naked, Fang stole a peek anyway. Lightning's back was turned, but a well-placed mirror on the wall to her right meant they made eye contact anyway.

For once, neither of them looked away in embarrassment; there was no need now that they were together. Lightning poked her tongue out as she pulled her t-shirt overhead.

Fang followed suit, throwing the plain white tee over her black vest, instantly enveloped in the smells she associated with Lightning; clean and floral. There was something comforting about wearing another person's clothes, it was like a thin fabric shield, and in it Fang felt unbeatable.

They made their way back into the gym, Lightning ahead, gathering her hair into a ponytail. Such a simple task made mesmerising. Apparently she looked even more inviting with the nape of her neck exposed. She turned, taking a spare hair tie from in between to offer Fang her extra band.

_Why the hell not? _

"You suit your hair up," Lightning told her before she even dropped her arms from tying her hair back.

"So do you," Fang replied unable to help the flirtatious wink that came after, and Lightning rolled her eyes.

* * *

><p>Amodar strolled from the cafeteria, hands behind his back, a good five minutes before he was needed on the observation deck within the Corps.<p>

The young Pulsian girl was still eating, and promised him that she would catch up after she finished her third helping in the lunch line. She wasn't a fool, she knew her expedition would mean bland food, and whatever they managed to hunt and kill in the surrounding area of Oerba.

The training room came and went within seconds; to his left he already spotted hasty movements through the glass pane in the door. He swiped his key card and entered the observation room, the door opening and closing with the same monotonous _click_.

The room sensed his presence, lights coming to life one at a time. From here he would watch the show, because apparently watching in the same room would be met with different results. Amodar wondered what Lightning meant by that. Did Fang get nervous fighting around an audience? If that were the case, what they needed her for would be troublesome.

He peered through the one-way glass, leaning as close to it as possible without touching it, which proved difficult with his barrel-like stomach. Amodar patted his belly absentmindedly, but his hand soon dropped in amazement.

The noise of each wooden weapon was muted through the glass, but the sound was no less vicious, as each blow was filled with great strength. His subordinate wasn't wrong when she said the skills of Gran Pulse were an entirely different spectacle. The last remaining Yun member was second to none with a bladed lance, so he had heard from various sources, and none of them were wrong.

Wild and vivacious versus calculated and precise.

Fang spun in the air, landing her weapon in the dead centre of Lightning's, cracking her wooden pole arm in two. Lightning stumbled back, rolling both wrists back and forth to ease the sudden jolt.

Fang had an unfair advantage; Lightning was more accustomed to one-handed gunblades. Amodar knew even from the distance he was at that Lightning was acting subdued.

Lightning's lips were moving, but there was no way to tell what she had said, but Fang's shoulder's shook with laughter in return. He hadn't seen the two interact away from their friends before, but there was no mistaking the powerful bond there.

"The perfect team," he concluded out loud.

* * *

><p>It was the second Fang broke her pole arm in two that Lightning realised their spar had upped from playful to slightly serious.<p>

Fang circled her like she was a new creation from Titan, some rare game. Her wrists ached from the sudden blow, but she refused to give any indication in her face that it hurt. On the plus side, she'd be left with something that resembled swords, and those she could work with.

"You did that the last time," Lightning pointed out. "Back in Sazh's garage."

Fang lunged forward, but it was a false alarm and she stopped just short of a metre before Lightning. "Well they are just weak pieces of wood."

Lightning briefly looked to the one-way windows above them wondering what Amodar was thinking of their display. "That was a modest answer, coming from you. Even our mock weapons are made from the sturdiest trees."

She expected her comment to be met with a cocky response; after all this was Fang, they were sparring. Any form of competition without a little trash talking was like bread without butter.

Intending to split Fang's pole arm the same and even the odds, Lightning swung both splinters of wood out in a horizontal arc with as much force as she could muster at that particular angle. Her wrists already hated her from earlier, so when Fang single-handedly blocked the strike, using her free hand to grasp what was left of Lightning's weapons.

"What are we _really_ here for, Light?" she asked, keeping her voice level. She then proceeded to throw Lightning over her shoulder when she uncharacteristically balked her answer.

The landing rattled her. As unprepared as she was to be flung over Fang, she was equally not ready to soften the impact. Amodar would be chuckling at that one. The ceiling was brightly lit, and opening her eyes made it feel like she was waking up from a hospital bed.

That was until Fang's head blocked out some of the light for her. There was no playful or even pissed look from Fang, just an expectant one.

Fang took a seat beside her. "Well?"

"I reckon you know why we're really here, Fang."

There wasn't even a split second pause, "Then take me to her."

"Not before you understand—"

"I'll find her myself if you won't help me."

Lightning grabbed Fang before she got out of reach, dragging her back to the mat. "It was me who recommended Oerba to Amodar, as a suitable civilian relocation site. I know you wanted it left untouched, but it's the perfect place to start, Fang."

Fang's shoulders dropped. "And what about Vanille? Did you also tell Amodar that I'm less capable of leading a party around my own home than she is? I should be going with her."

"Don't you see? You're doing the same to Vanille as I did to Serah by not letting her go on to do her own thing." Lightning grabbed Fang's hands, kneeling in front of the Oerban, in order to block any potential view from Amodar. "Thanks to you, I've just managed to let Serah go. Now I'm doing the same for you."

Her heart was beating a mile a minute when she dared to kiss Fang, pouring all her heartfelt emotion into it. "If you think any of this has happened to spite you Fang, you're as dim witted as Snow. I _love you_. I had this fear that you'd accept this mission with Vanille, set off for Oerba and leave me here. But by no means did I tell Amodar you were incompetent."

Lightning pulled away as the training room door opened, Fang following her line of vision.

Introducing himself with a slow clap was Amodar, building his applause in speed until he met the edge of the mat.

"Spectacular display as promised, Farron. Hold your salute."

They both stood up when Amodar offered his hand to Fang, who shook it; a slight confusion etched into her features.

"I've heard many great things about your fighting skills. The raw footage from your time as l'Cie hasn't done you any justice."

"Er, thanks."

"Your friend Vanille also sings our praises. Lovely girl."

"Speaking of which, I want to see her."

"She's got a busy day of preparing ahead of her. You'll see her soon."

"Then get to the bloody point!"

Amodar looked at Lightning then, as if it were her fault Fang spoke out of turn. She had warned him that Fang wasn't one for following orders, or respecting superiors.

Placing his arms behind his back Amodar said, "She leaves tomorrow morning. Get changed then come to my office, both of you. The Guardian Corps has greater plans for you, if you'll hear me out."

Fang's eyes narrowed. "Then you'll let me see her?"

"Of course."

The huntress sprinted off to change, leaving Lightning with that she mentally deemed as 'cleanup duty'.

"Amodar, sir," Lightning saluted. "I apologise for Fang's abruptness. She hasn't heard from Vanille since they argued and—"

He stopped her with a shake of his head. "You did warn me," he sighed. "I still like her however, so if you can get her to agree to working for us then great. You are dismissed."

What a relief.

"Thank you," Lightning smiled, departing for the changing rooms as well.

"Oh, and Farron?"

She spun on her heels. "Yes?"

"She's a bonny one. You did well there."

* * *

><p>"Why are you all red? Did he give you a bollocking?" Fang asked, already half dressed in her excitement to finally see Vanille.<p>

Lightning made a beeline for her locker, grabbing her water bottle and taking three large gulps, before giving what was left to Fang on the bench behind her.

"No." Her response was far too short and sweet, betraying how bothered she was. "Amodar pretty much knows I'm gay now though."

Water spluttered everywhere as Fang tried not to laugh. "Aw shit. There goes any hopes of him ever having you to himself."

Why did she even bother? "He's a happily married man, Fang."

"Then he can now have many wonderful three-way lesbian fantasies with you, him, and his wife."

"Stop laughing!" Lightning hissed, though trying not to smile herself. The image Fang had created in her mind was disgusting, but Fang's laugh was gloriously infectious.

She had certainly perked up since a minute ago however. Lightning appreciated how easily Fang reverted to her normal self, especially when it took Lightning at least half a day to get over something.

"You've brightened up at least."

Fang wiped the spillage on her shirt, only succeeding in smudging the water more. Hopefully it would dry by the time they got to Amodar's office. Lightning turned her attention back to changing, the air suddenly crisp and her skin cool.

"I'll admit, emotionally I feel all over the place," Fang sighed. In a few careful steps she wrapped her arms around Lightning from behind, resting her chin on Light's shoulder. "What you said before… you're right. I thought I'd feel more hurt about Vanille's departure, but…" A soft exhale tickled her ear, both the sound and feeling sent shivers down Lightning's spine. "I've got you now."

Fang's arms had gone from encircling her to stroking Lightning's stomach. She would wait until she was half dressed to get all touchy, wouldn't she? "We shouldn't keep Amodar waiting."

It wasn't unpleasant, but _Etro_, if someone were to walk in. Luckily, Fang's hands didn't wander past overly friendly boundaries; instead they stood in a silent embrace, absorbing the moment for what it was.

"And I never got the chance to say it before but I love you too." The words rolled so easily from her tongue, melting into Lightning's brain. Fang muttered something else, something the soldier didn't recognise other than the speech patterns being that of Pulsian.

She turned, peppering Fang's face with small kisses, wanting to spell out her love by leaving no patch of skin left wanting.

* * *

><p>The door to Amodar's office opened while Lightning and Fang were several feet away from even knocking. Out from it, a blur of ginger hair raced out, as if a haste spell had been cast, and leapt into Fang's unsuspecting arms. The taller of the two spun on the spot, and Lightning had to sidestep to avoid a pair of feet in her face.<p>

"Fang!" Vanille practically screamed. "I've missed you! Let's never argue again."

"Gah! We're idiots, Vanille."

Lightning smiled weakly in the background. She had to remember there was nothing to be jealous about, and that Fang and Vanille were the equivalent to herself and Serah. Still, being twirled around like that look fun.

"Are you gonna accept the job?" Vanille asked excitedly.

Fang looked to Lightning expectantly, letting Vanille fall to the floor from her relaxed grip.

"Amodar was supposed to be the one to tell you," the soldier explained, gesturing to the open office door. "Shall we just all go inside?"

"What sort of job?" Fang queried anyway, but Lightning wouldn't spill.

What she had proposed to her superior would not only benefit the Corps, but their own bond, if Fang accepted. No, _when_ Fang accepted. Not a single doubt flowed through her mind. For people like Fang, it was imperative they were kept busy. This way she was kept busy and still had Lightning by her side.

Amodar was sitting patiently behind his desk when Lightning ushered the Oerbans inside, basking in the newly formed excitement within the room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: In order to get back into finishing FFXIII fanfics I've taken up playing FFXIII again (I WILL GET PLATINUM). One more chapter to go if I'm not mistaken. **

**I can't believe how long it's taken. I'm not entirely sure if I like this chapter. But what I am certain about is that I've enjoyed revisiting this story.**


	14. Chapter 13

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 13**

* * *

><p>Ahead of the rest of her team, Fang pulled the reins of her chocobo back, and six other pairs of feet automatically followed suit. Up ahead, Taejin's Tower loomed, what was left becoming the roosts of hundreds of Amphisbaena, which looked to have thrived since the defeat of Dahaka.<p>

Lightning had halted just short to her right, looking uncertain as to why they had stopped. "What is it? Taking in the view?"

"Well if we are can we hurry up?" Caius huffed, his chocobo impatiently clawing the ground. "If our last obstacle is the tower, then let's get it over with."

Fang yanked her chocobo around, teeth gritted. There was _always _one. The area surrounding the tower might just be rock and dry soil to Caius, but each crag meant something to Fang, it meant home was close.

"You get one lucky shot on a Behemoth and you think you're top dog." She yanked a feather from his headband, letting it drift to the floor. She knew Caius took pride in his trophies ever since Fang explained the Oerban significance of wearing your kills. "Well guess what, you're not."

His hand twitched close to the hilt of his sword, toying with the idea of drawing it, and if he did he'd lose his hand to whichever came first – spear, or standard gunblade bullet. He took a drawn out breath, using the same itching hand to gesture around the group. "Correct, _you_ are."

Ballad didn't mean it, that much she knew, but like everyone else he was physically and mentally tired.

The tour of Gran Pulse had been rigorous and demanding. Somehow Fang and Lightning had turned the greenest group of eager recruits into the adept rangers that they were. With the exception of one, her small group were becoming quite the dream team. Though she had her doubts in the beginning, everyone had proved themselves by simply not dying.

The worst part was yet to come, and that was getting the chocobos into the tower's main elevator. With the exception of the one needed to get down to Oerba, Fang was thankful that they had bothered to explore the tower completely and alter the tower to their needs.

"Right, no point in sticking around." Fang hopped from her bird. "Everyone dismount and we'll walk 'em along."

There was a series of relieved groans as people slid off their birds. Sitting in a saddle for prolonged amounts of time was no one's idea of fun, and even Lightning had copied Fang's sidesaddle approach on some days. The best part was, Lightning wouldn't admit that she found sitting this way a lot harder, but if the occasional handful of feathers in her hand were anything to go by... she usually clung on for dear life.

Their birds grew restless the closer the group got to the tower. Yeul, who was as dainty as Vanille, was struggling to keep her feet on the ground as hers fought to get away. One thing Fang had noticed was that Yeul had a knack for taming her bird; there were countless times Fang had nearly lost an eye to her own.

"What's going on?" Noel said through gritted teeth, his muscles tense as he held on to his chocobo.

Lightning looked skywards as if the answer was written there. "They can sense something."

_Lady Luck, let us pass through with ease._

The last thing she, or anyone in the party wanted was a rough end to their expedition. If there _was_ something troubling the birds, it was best to get through the tower before the sun started to dip.

With tentative chocobos in tow, they approached the stone archway leading into the tower. Through the open doors, everything was still up until the point of blackness inside.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Alyssa sang, and yet she was first on the steps to have a peek. "Coast is clear… I think."

Her words were like a trigger. Faint at first, chains rattled from within, growing in volume. Unanimously, everyone armed themselves, holding breaths in order to listen harder.

Lightning backed away slowly. "Get away from there."

Alyssa remained rooted, pale, but unable to look away from down the corridor. "I don't think it's near though."

A nest of Amphisbaena scattered suddenly, and every chocobo bolted, their squawks drowned out by a sinister chorus of screeches. Fang almost missed the extra participant in the flurry and chaos, narrowly avoiding being trampled on.

"Shit!"

"Catch them!"

"My chocobo!"

Whatever shrieked caught one for them, Lightning pulled Fang to the ground as beast and bird dive-bombed, but Light was slightly late; a fiery pain shot through Fang's shoulder, and she landed face first into the ground.

The beast looked exactly like Dahaka, except he was certainly dead, and this one had a tail, but shorter, signalling its youth.

Lightning tentatively brushed clumps of dirt from Fang's new shoulder wound, before washing what she could with her flask. The wound stung at best, but that didn't stop Fang from biting her tongue.

"Shit it got mine, boss!" Adonis looked crestfallen.

Still spitting out mouthfuls of soil, Fang gave Lightning's shoulder a brief squeeze. "Be thankful it didn't grab _you_, idiot."

Fang flicked her wrist at her recruits. "Go get the damn birds that are left if they aren't too far." With a hint of impatience, Lightning angled Fang's shoulder to face her better, which hurt. "And be quick, before it comes back."

"Sit still, will you?" Lightning ordered as she fumbled for bandages in her leg pouch. "Why is it always this shoulder?"

"What's one more scar?" Fang shrugged off, but she knew it wasn't deep enough to do so. She wasn't sure had struck her, whether the mid-flight chocobo or the part of the Dahaka spawn's tail. "Thanks, though. Probably would've had no head if you hadn't reacted so fast."

The arm wrapping ceased, in its place Lightning gave Fang a quick, nervous kiss on the lips. This was all the affection they gave and got whilst touring Gran Pulse, and when Lightning pulled back Fang followed for another. Leaning on her bad arm, Fang cupped Light by the neck, yearning to deepen such a teasing kiss.

The soldier yielded to her demands, but only for a few seconds.

"Steady," Lightning chuckled quietly.

"But staying professional is so hard," Fang whined. "We haven't been alone properly since we told them all to look for a two-legged Adamantoise."

Lightning's features warmed at the particular memory. Fang smiled too. Not only was there no such thing, but the group had also been gone for half the day, not wanting to disappoint their mentors.

Their short moment was exactly that. The chocobos mustn't have scattered far, as everyone returned within the minute; Adonis the only one empty handed.

Noel insisted he take up the front, always keen to demonstrate how much he had learned from Fang and Lightning. Well, mostly Lightning. When it came to Fang teaching him things, they topics veered mostly to sex and Gran Pulse than fighting.

In a strange way, she saw a bit of Hope in Noel. Like Hope, Noel looked to Lightning as a mentor, whilst Fang took up the good friend mantle. As the months passed, she kept comparing the two lads more, though she never wanted to talk about anything sex related with Hope. Ever.

"We've got a few four-legged friends lurking," he reported back. "But they look small, it would be a shame to slaughter them when they could just as easily run away."

Though his back was turned, Fang nodded in approval. Being a ranger was just as much about preserving wildlife than being able to kill it.

"We could corner them!" Alyssa offered, before remembering that they were in a circular tower. "Well you know what I mean…"

Purposely keeping quiet was much harder for Fang than Lightning, but it was rewarding to 'sit back' and see how far everyone had progressed in problem solving and teamwork.

"Caius, Adonis, Noel. Since you're tall, spread out and scare them to the farthest end possible." Yeul motioned for Caius and Noel's chocobos. "Alyssa and I will start guiding them into the elevators."

Caius drew his large sword, and the rest of the boys took large steps away from him, using their own weapons to create an intimidating wall.

"Need any help with your wall?" Lightning asked.

"We'll be fine, boss!"

"In that case, Fang, I'm going to go on ahead with the girls."

Lightning had been gripping her gunblade in ranged mode ever since the smaller Dahaka had made an appearance. It wasn't hard understanding her worries; Lightning had a mothering instinct that wasn't obvious until you got to know her.

"Be careful, yeah?"

Stopping mid-turn, Lightning already had one eyebrow raised. "You're worried," she stated, lips threatening to turn upwards. "_You._ Oerba Yun Fang, worried about me?"

"Shut up," Fang murmured. "I'm not fretting."

"Lightning are you coming with us?" Alyssa called out, so Lightning cut their moment short, pushing her chocobo, Odin, over to Fang.

She threw her last comment over her shoulder, "Good, because you're the one who keeps getting injured, not me."

Fang bit her tongue in order to stop smiling, rather than from holding back a retort.

With a signal from the boys, the first chocobo was urged towards the ramp in preparation. Lightning said a few things, both girls nodding in confirmation.

Pulling Odin and Bahamut with the others, Fang tried not to watch the cylinder contraption sing its way to the apex with Lightning inside it.

The wait for it to reach the top was everlasting, and the silence when it had was deafening, but it seemed they were in luck – no gunshots, or roars, or shouting.

Happy that they would not be disturbed, the men returned just as the elevator slowed to a halt on the ground floor.

Knowing she had to be last, Fang made Adonis get in the elevator next, and then pulled him instantly back when her communicator began beeping incessantly until she answered.

"Hang on a sec, Adon." Fang cleared her throat. "Light?"

"_Fang there's more than one." _

The rest of the group must have heard her as their expressions turned flat and solemn. Even Caius, who had strutted around Gran Pulse the entire time, did not look pleased at a potential challenge.

"More Dahaka spawn? How can there be more than one?" Her question died out on the other end; she could hear gunshots now, both through the communicator and far above her, like cracks of thunder. "Fuck – hold on I'm coming up."

"Correction, we all are" Caius said matter-of-factly, storming the ramp.

"But the chocobos, guys!"

"They're replaceable," Fang spat, kicking the elevator's lever. _Lightning is not._

The doors shut on everyone else but Caius, who coolly stepped in just before it closed on his sword. He smirked, looking one step away from high-fiving himself, if it didn't ruin his reputation as a cold bastard. "So…"

"If you planning on lightening the mood, I'd rather you didn't. Lighten the skies of Dahaka instead."

His laugh rumbled deep in his throat. "You might not like me the best, Fang, but I intend to outperform the others."

_Rather perceptive of him. _"I didn't think you cared about people's opinions."

The elevator jerked as they reached the end of their travels, the three-pronged door curling back. Fang and Caius ran out. At first there was nothing to see, just open skies and menial winged beasts and then…

Lightning sprinted across the central bridge towards them, eyes widening with relief. "Fang!"

The combined calls of not one Dahaka, but _three_ brought everyone to attention to the very peak of the tower. They circled the tower, forcing everyone back into the centre for false safety.

Caius pointed his sword at one, already picking his kill. "They're ugly looking bastards. Not sure I want any part of that as a trophy."

"Make sure it doesn't wear you," Light warned. "They're not to be taken lightly."

The biggest Dahaka dared to swoop under the pillars, forcing everyone to roll for cover.

Why hadn't Vanille or any of the soldiers reported these fal'Cie?

Fang narrowly missed another slicing cut. "We're gonna have to take 'em out. They're young and already having fun taunting us, I can't have them this near to Oerba."

Without warning Caius ran out from their only protection, swiping almost blindly at whichever fal'Cie that dipped to close. It didn't look as though they would stay stationary long enough to be engaged in a real fight.

"One each?" Light offered as if sharing food.

Fang laughed, spinning her lance overhead. She's prayed for safe passage earlier, but now she was thankful for the opportunity to kill something impressive.

"Over here, Smiler!" Fang called, and one took the bait immediately - she hadn't lost her provoking skills in the slightest. Careful not to run into either Lightning or Caius's fights, Fang mentally marked out a third of the tower as her own battlefield.

"Come to Fang, big guy! Got you a toothpick right _here!_" And with perfect timing she thrust her lance into the hollow eye of Dahaka's fake face.

It veered off so violently that Fang almost let go of her weapon, something she'd never have forgiven herself for if she _had_ let go. There was no blood with fal'Cie, but she could tell she had hurt it, especially when it took a steep right, colliding into one of its brethren.

The elevator jingle was almost drowned out by the fight, but from the corner of her eye, Fang was pleased to see the most of the recruits pour out. She only noticed Yeul's absence at first, likely to be protecting the chocobos. But Adonis was… where exactly?

"Guns out, Zaidelle!" Lightning's prey was wise enough not to come too close. "When its back is turned, aim for its real body."

"Its real body?" Alyssa looked puzzled, holding her twin automatic pistols sideward. "What do you – AH! Look! It's got a second head."

Fang rolled her eyes; Alyssa was yet to comprehend that Gran Pulse held more surprises than Cocoon had population. Impatiently and through gritted teeth, Lightning took a potshot at the upcoming Dahaka spawn in order to give Zaidelle a clue.

"Get down here and fight!" Caius bellowed, his voice echoing under the archways and down the tower.

"What's up?" Fang threw a look over her shoulder, but the problem didn't need an answer. Even with Noel's assistance, the spawn Caius had targeted would not come within a sword swinging range. Where were the stone guardians when you needed them?

Noel stood helplessly, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Heh. Critters won't die will they?"

Sweated beaded at her hairline, the heat so strong, she felt as though she was inches from the sun. The prolonged fight would be the end of them.

Then a flash of genius then struck Fang. Running into the central platform, Fang whacked the activation lever with the back end of her lance, and the floor instantly shook to life. If the fal'Cie weren't coming to her, she'd have to come to them.

"What're you doing?" Lightning called out, looked slightly hurt that she'd left the main floor without her.

Cupping one hand over her mouth, Fang shouted down, "Lure 'em higher!"

When the platform stopped Fang ran to the end, hiding behind curved pillar that joined into a dome at the top. Loath to admit, this was the first time she'd used self-titled Highwind attack since… since when exactly?

The chances of breaking bones were high if she completely missed her target. Visions of being struck from the tower completely danced across her mind, and suddenly Fang missed Bahamut and her l'Cie powers. The wind whipped at her hair, and provided Fang with a much needed cooling down. There was sun glare and sweat in her eyes and it didn't help her rapidly growing nerves.

* * *

><p>Lightning had run out of bullets and ideas. Alyssa still needed to improve her aim, but despite this Zaidelle's last burst had caught the fal'Cie in one of its real eyes, which she put down to a lucky hit.<p>

How was she meant to help Fang now?

"Alyssa, throw me a pistol."

That seemed to surprise the girl. "But I need to reload them."

_Note to self, Zaidelle needs a little more competency training_. "Then pass the ammo _as well_."

The dim girl was their weakest link in terms of all roundedness, but that didn't mean she was a complete burden. Alyssa tossed the reloaded gun, which Light caught midair, giving a passing thought that Zaidelle was still a mouldable teenager. Not everyone had suffered an army regime at a tender young age like she had.

For all the pestering Lightning had done, she kept the pistol aimed at the floor, and her gunblade back in its holster.

Only one of the miniature fal'Cie had noticeable fatigue, and it was the one she and Alyssa had focused on. Fang's Dahaka had been struck, but the huntress had nothing to show for it - where she had stabbed had obviously not been enough.

There was no use keeping Fang waiting. Picking her mark, Lightning fired a single shot at its underbelly.

"I'm right here!" She pulled the trigger lightly again, trying not to be as wasteful as Alyssa had been. "Let's see what you got!"

It looked like Fang was about to have her pick of the marks, as two Dakaha spawns swooped around and lunged for her in a coordinated attack. Drawing her gunblade in melee mode, Lightning arced it skywards, hitting one so hard she fell over her own feet. Caius and Noel joined in on the slicing and slashing of the real thing's head.

It had all happened so fast, but as Light rolled backwards she caught a glimpse of a fluttering sari and lance poised as if to be thrown like a javelin.

"Have some of this!" The battle cry gave Lightning shivers, her body tensing when Fang landed on the second Dahaka's shell-like back, her Highwind successful.

The sudden weight made the fal'Cie drop in surprise, and Lightning could only assume Fang was holding on with an iron grip up there.

Lightning resumed shooting, and Fang came into her view, practically crawling up the tough armour.

Lady Luck was edging to be on their side; the fal'Cie finally unleashed its real head, its neck whipping about in confusion. The other two Dahakas screeched, as if warning their sibling of what was currently prowling up its back.

Sensing impending doom, Lightning bit her tongue, but couldn't hold her words. "Don't let it fly far from the tower, Fang!"

The second she said it, the fal'Cie tried to shift into a vertical flight pattern. Lightning prayed Fang still had the anti-gravity device on her, as the soldier was seconds away from activating it.

She didn't seem to need it yet, however. Using just a single hand Fang hoisted herself onto its shoulders, charging like a behemoth up its slim neck with a final burst of energy. The Dahaka underling wasn't quick enough to shake her off, and Fang's lance speared through its skull, clamping its jaw completely shut in the process. Its death cry was muffled, rumbling through its body with the same intensity of an earthquake.

Tightly holding the lance in both hands, Fang jumped, taking the dying fal'Cie with her, like she had it on a leash. She managed to pull her lance free midair.

The height Fang fell wasn't frighteningly high, but Lightning treated her to a soft landing with a click of her fingers. Waves of blue washed over the floor, and Fang gentled touched ground and fell to a crouch by Light's feet, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the falling beast.

"One down…" she panted, letting her weapon roll from her grip as she fell to all fours.

"Two to go," Lightning finished with a slight smile, picking up what was dropped. She offered it out to Fang, using it to pull the other woman up.

Somewhere down the line, running and defending for their lives, the recruits had stopped dead in their tracks to spectate. Even Lightning had, so she couldn't scold them for it.

Picking up on the lack of action, Fang beckoned to Caius. "And that's how you take down a bastard fal'Cie." She jabbed her lance towards the remaining two. "Your turn."

Jaw set, he jogged swiftly to the platform.

"What's with him?" Alyssa handed Lightning another round of ammo. "Looks like he's had something sharp shoved up his ass."

Noel didn't hide his laughter. Following closely behind Caius he shouted back, "He's just upset he didn't think of it first."

* * *

><p>They didn't manage to kill the other two. Upon the death of the larger fal'Cie beast, the smaller two fled far enough to be indistinguishable little specks. Fang wasn't sure whether or not they'd return when they were larger, but one thing she did know was that they'd be ready if they did.<p>

As the chocobos were being lured into the central elevator, Fang slowly approached the ramparts overlooking Oerba, Lightning joining her, this time not as a ticking time bomb for the end of Cocoon.

Oerba's wind generators were rotating lazily in the distance, fully functioning.

"The crystal dust has nearly all gone," Lightning commented. "I wonder what they've done with it."

They'd see the full extent to how much had dispersed when they went down, but Light was right. Fang took a steadying breath. The splashes of colour before her spelled out a promising future, it was still early days, more flowers and foliage would grow in time.

"I knew Vanille would make a special effort with brightening the place up," Fang said unable to mask the tiredness in her voice now, not that she cared.

Arms folded, Fang idly ran her fingers over the leather armlet that Lightning had given her over the Cocoon festive period. The generous gesture, and how Fang had felt on being presented with such a gift was still fresh in Fang's mind, and she wanted to do one better.

Her hand subconsciously moved to play with her necklaces, giving Fang a much needed idea. Sure, she and Vanille had given Lightning the very same bangles they wore, but Lightning had trouble fighting with them, not used to it like they were. Lightning already wore necklaces, so perhaps Fang could make her one during their downtime.

Still looking at the view, what she could see of Oerba wasn't enough to persuade her that a lot had changed down there. It was a clear day, but the surrounding mountainous terrain still blocked the most important bits, like the buildings… and Vanille.

She hadn't seen Vanille since that sparring day at the GC base, and it was by far the furthest and longest they'd ever been apart. The girl wouldn't have grown an inch, but Fang pictured minor changes, like maybe she'd cut her hair or even just left it to grow.

The final elevator, which acted more like Atomos in the way it rolled from tower to outcrops near Oerba was the final obstacle of their day. Safe to say Fang was more than ready for a long soak and a nice meal that she didn't have to skin herself.

Already she could make out the forms of soldiers pooling at the foot of the tower awaiting their delayed arrival, yet none looked short enough to be Vanille. It was highly likely that the girl would be neck deep in preparations for their appearance.

"Everyone's got their chocobos down now boss." Adonis probably hadn't meant to sneak up on her, but Fang disguised the jolt as excessive straightening of her back. "Just yours to go down."

Turning, Adonis had lost his bird, and she fondly took Bahamut's reins from him, noting sadness and a tinge of jealousy behind his eyes.

"I'm sorry about Myrrha, she had a good temperament about her."

"Shit happens," he choked out. "Much like earlier. I'm sorry I couldn't join the fight, the mother of those pups downstairs appeared and—"

"Yeul filled me in, don't worry. I know how much you love these birds."

Almost seconds away from offering her own feathered companion as a keepsake, she paused, mouth hanging open. "If you can shoulder the responsibility, I'll find you a chick and you can raise it from scratch, how 'bout that?"

He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, looking a lot like Snow did at times. He bit back a sorrowful smile. "Really boss? Because… because that would be like, great."

"Yeah, yeah. You look about two seconds away from kissing me, stop making that damn face at me."

Adonis ran off leaving Fang and her bird to hurry along behind lest they wait for the elevator to return and waste yet more time. It wasn't much of a squeeze trying to accommodate for the three as one would think, and Fang appreciated how much it sped things along a bit.

"Thought you guys would never come down," Noel jested as they exited, before pulling his chocobo to reveal the soldiers Fang had seen from a bird's eye view.

"Miss Yun—"

"Just Fang, please."

The talking soldier had an uncanny resemblance to Rygdea, except his hair was short and sandy, like the surrounding plains around Taejin's. "Pleased to meet you, Fang. The name's Biggs."

"And this short arse here?"

"Hey!"

"Heh. That's Wedge. Anyway, Farron said to tell you she's gone on ahead."

Fang shrugged it off. She hadn't told anyone to wait at the base of the tower, they'd just chosen to. It's not like Oerba was miles off from where they were now. "Thanks for the welcome."

The expedition group and the soldiers made the short trek up the slight inclination, chocobos in tow.

Each step created a butterfly in her stomach until finally, _finally_ she was in view of a plethora of colour. The broken roads were still there, but rubble had been cleared along with the crystal dust that plagued the area, allowing plants to spring to life where they couldn't before.

For once the village was alive with real people, albeit soldiers for now, but at least they weren't bloody Cie'th.

"Vanille insisted we celebrate on the evening of your arrival," Wedge told her. "We weren't gonna say no, were we, Biggsy?"

"Definitely not! We've been doing repairs everyday and when we're not repairing we're chasing off wildlife."

"The good news though, is that we've got running water and a constant supply of electricity."

"All we need now's some good television shows to alleviate the boredom at night time."

"That'd require an actual television, stupid prick."

Their impassioned conversation greatly amused her, and she didn't know why. Perhaps it was the fact they were completely new faces to her? Etro knows she'd never get sick of Lightning's company, but the others… maybe ten years without seeing any of them would do her some good.

At least none of the group snored, they'd have been the first to die unexplained deaths.

And there standing by a newly erected signpost with Lightning, was Vanille. Her appearance hadn't changed much past what she wore. Her warm coloured curls still bounced at her shoulders, only a touch longer than Fang remembered.

They both burst into a fit of giggles.

Letting the reins slip from her hands, Fang ran forward, Vanille meeting her halfway. Like a child she twirled Vanille, wincing at the forgotten pain in her shoulder.

"Hey you."

"Fang! I can't believe you're finally here," Vanille cried out when Fang set her down. "Look at the colour of you! I can't tell if you're scruffy from battle or if you've tanned."

"Both," Fang replied, peeling back her armguards to show her the telltale lines. "Look at you though, as pale as the day you left."

Vanille huffed, glancing back to Lightning over by the signpost still. "You know how fair I am, and _some of us_ tend to burn."

The huntress couldn't help having one last jab. "Hey, Light's fair and even she caught some colour. You're just a failure."

Vanille gave Fang a jab of her own in the form of three half-hearted punches to her palms. "_Goddess_, maybe I haven't missed you as much as I thought."

"Sorry to intrude on your reunion." _As if you could ever be an encroacher to either of us,_ Fang thought as Lightning approached. "But if you could point out the nearest bath, bed, and an un-burnt meal it would be greatly appreciated."

"Of course!" Vanille clapped her hands together. "And if you're awake before nightfall, I'll give you the grand tour."

* * *

><p>The overall day had washed Fang out, and after a quick bath she'd practically fell onto the first comfortable surface she found. It was just as well that it was a bed.<p>

The place she was laying was a new build to Oerba, located opposite the warehouses that led to the large bridge. The housing unit was filled with bunk beds for the soldiers working here, though she suspected Vanille slept in one of the original buildings.

Although she had to walk past most of the old and new places to get where she was now, Fang wasn't quite ready to look inside any of them yet.

There was a small creak as the bed next to her suddenly became occupied, forcing Fang's increasingly heavy eyelids open.

"What? Don't wanna share with me?" Fang murmured.

Keeping her voice low, Lightning lay down on the separate bunk reaching out to the open space between them. "I thought you were… sleeping." She yawned. "Didn't want to… didn't want to disturb."

Stretching her bad shoulder was worth it to hold Light's hand. It was peculiar feeling the skin of her palms, Fang was so used to the gloves being there that she'd accepted it as the norm.

On the fine cusp between being asleep and awake, the two just stared at one another, half of their faces buried in their respective pillows. In her mind Fang had already started dreaming, playing out the position they were lying in now, except they were sharing their final moments, dying on the battlefield. Regardless of the scenario, Fang felt complete.

It was late afternoon when they woke from someone approaching, both women groaned from their dead arms.

"Wakey, wakey sleepyheads!" Vanille sat at the foot of Lightning's bunk, a fruit platter resting on her knee. "Thought you two would like a quick appetiser since most of the food won't be ready for at least another… hm, two hours?"

Lightning gave her arm a good shake, but Fang could only grasp above the bandages to help alleviate the pain. "Maybe shouldn't have fallen asleep like that."

The soldier began rolling her shoulder now. "You're telling me."

"Yes well, I'm sorry I woke you both." Vanille tossed an apple towards Fang, and she only just caught it before it rolled off the other end of the bed. "You guys looked cute."

Fang hated the burning feeling in her face. "Where do you sleep? I can't see you sharing with all these GC guys."

Vanille giggled. "For now I sleep in the same place we found Bhakti. You're both welcome to stay there with me…" Vanille didn't look finished, but it didn't take a genius to realise what she was insinuating.

"Thanks 'Nille."

"We'll be good," Lightning affirmed, a slight deviousness in her features that the redhead didn't quite see.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This was meant to be the final chapter, but it was growing too long and I knew I'd never get round to re-reading everything if it was more than 5k words. Which meaaaans, next chapter is the last and I hope to make it as fun as possible. **

**As always, thank you for reading. **


	15. Chapter 14

**The Other Battlefield**

**Chapter 14**

* * *

><p>Having slept most of the day, Fang was raring to celebrate the end to a year's worth of recruit training in Gran Pulse style. Vanille had apparently unearthed not only a selection of old instruments, but a cache of wine that was at least five centuries old; Fang was already licking her lips.<p>

Sitting in the living space area in one of the untouched Oerban buildings, Fang regarded the folded items on the table in front of her, which lay untouched since Vanille had delivered them.

The black-feathered capelet for her shoulders caught her eye the most, as they were worn only on the greatest of occasions, and so it seemed that Vanille was going all-out for this celebration. The rest of her clothes were all leather-based, and dyed as black as a starless sky.

_She better not be pranking me_.

Fang wouldn't put it past Vanille to convince her into wearing such a costume, only to find she was the only one wearing anything of the sort.

"Hey Fang?"

Lightning poked her head around the corner from the stairs, concealing the rest of her body from view. Fang narrowed her eyes, leaning as far over in her seat as she could, but the wall that acted as a coat rack.

Judging by the rosy tinge to her cheeks, she was hiding something one way or another.

"What's up?" Fang finally asked, but then she saw just what the problem was, and it was also feathery. Skirting Lightning's ankles was a pristine, feathered waist cape in the purest of whites, contrasting against Fang's own adornment. "Ah. I see."

Upon seeing what Fang was wearing, Lightning stepped into full view. The black tank top she had one was cropped much like Fang's, and the huntress was drawn to the small, glittering navel piercing.

"There's a certain theme happening here," Lightning said whilst gesturing to their getups, finally drawing away the emerald stare.

"Well, you know us Oerbans by now. Tradition, tradition, tradition." Her words didn't look to be reassuring for Lightning, especially since they didn't act as a cloak to cover up what little amount she was wearing. "What else has she given you?"

Raising her hands, Lightning had several other things gently clutched in her fists, as to not damage the delicate pieces. She dangled one item on her finger, giving it a once over.

Quirking an eyebrow she said, "This is either for a headpiece or a garter."

She was completely clueless regarding Oerban clothes, but Fang found Lightning's inexperience rather endearing. Especially when she regarded Lightning as someone who knew at least something about everything.

Their newly qualified rangers would likely be just as hesitant about this celebratory _uniform, _but Fang gathered that everyone would be in the same feathery boat.

And as Fang shortly found out, they were.

Upon their initial arrival there'd been no decorations, but now there was bunting as far as the eye could see, in colours once seen in the flowers surrounding Oerba.

The workers that were milling around were all thankfully clothed in similar attire, mostly furs and silks and feathers. Few had braved a bare-chested look to the evening, and even fewer would've passed Yun expectancies with their lacklustre physiques.

The square courtyard had been covered entirely by pelts, surrounding a great fire pit, yet to be lit, in the centre.

Already Fang's heartbeat was speeding, and whatever doubts she had about the evening were steadily ebbing away with each heartbeat.

"Oh thank Etro," Lightning sighed beside her. "I wasn't sure if many would participate in dressing up."

It sounded like child's play, but in contrast to Cocoon militia's uniforms there was an air of fun to what they wore.

The first thing they did was settle down to eat, and judging by the longing stares and grumbling bellies, no one minded. Sitting cross-legged in a rough circle, Fang kept a space for Vanille who was understandably the chief of kitchen duties.

When the food did arrive Fang couldn't decide what to sample first between a rack of slow cooked ribs or marinated chicken on skewers. Throwing a small roast potato in her mouth seemed to help her decide, and Fang picked two skewers to take back to her spot.

The female side of the rangers unsubtly watched her eat like a ravenous animal, but Fang was glad to put her canines to a better use than smiling. Lightning was a lot more refined in her eating, even if she was eating a Behemoth steak with her fingers.

"You not gonna wait for the utensils?" Fang asked, chuckling at the sight. "You do realise we're back in civilisation now, yeah?"

Too preoccupied with chewing to give a verbal answer, Lightning promptly gave her the middle finger.

"You're one to talk boss." Adonis unknowingly sat in the space she'd initially saved for Vanille. Fang wasn't sure if he was joking because he had rib sauce all over his mouth. Adonis fidgeted in his seat from the tightness of the leather cuisse he was wearing, which he picked and pulled at, before changing the subject. "Can I just say how much I have loved this entire experience? Fang, Light, thank you. I mean, it's been an honour, and I've made friends for life."

"We've enjoyed having you," Lightning said the second she swallowed the last of her steak.

"Too right." Fang almost clapped him on the shoulder, but her hands were as greasy as his face. "And I promise to keep my word on rearing a chocobo of your own."

There was a low rumble from behind one of the houses, causing Adonis to look over Fang's shoulder obviously enough that she forgot what she was meant to say next. It was the sloshing that followed it, along with devious ringing laughter that followed it that forced Fang to look.

"The wiiiiiiine!"

From where the old Cie'th stone used to lie, a cask barrelled from the darkness down the ramp and into some of the feasting soldiers. Only a few made it out of the way in time, diving, sidestepping, sprawling. The cask came to a standstill at the foot of Caius, who looked at the display of drama with a disdainful look.

Only Caius could remain pissed when the culprits stumbled down the ramp also, struggling with the weight of more barrels. Etro, Vanille had not only made a fool of herself, but taken the female side of her rangers and… and _corrupted_ them.

Their calfskin skirts almost didn't preserve any of the girls' modesty as they bounded down the ramp, unable to stop the momentum. The urge to help them just wasn't there, and when everything and everyone came to a crashing halt, Fang erupted into laughter with the others.

Unable to see, Lightning stood. "Is the wine okay?" It was so deadpan, Fang wasn't sure it was a joke. Lightning seemed to notice, and bit back her tell tale smile. "Well, it'd go well with steak, right?"

"Of course we're bothered about the wine because it _complements the food_, not the fact we want to let loose and get a bit drunk."

When the wine was finally handed out, Fang knocked the first cup back like it was water, though her second was treat sparingly. She still, and always would, have a preference for a sweet cider where cocktails weren't available however.

And as it so happened, they had a plentiful stash of just that. It was like Vanille was trying to celebrate for the thousand birthdays they had collectively missed. It was just a shame the rest of their friends weren't here to celebrate what was essentially a homecoming.

It didn't matter too much to Fang, she had two of the most important people in her life with her right this very moment, and one of them happened to be skipping towards her, carrying an ornate wooden box.

"Still sober?"

The question was almost as interesting as the mystery box. Fang leaned back on her arms, waiting for Vanille's intentions to come to light. "Don't insult me, I've not drank enough. What you got there anyway?"

Also listening in, but wisely staying out of Vanille's initial line of vision was Lightning, and from the corner of Fang's eye she saw a fine eyebrow arch.

"I was just wondering…" Vanille opened the lid, revealing pots of finely ground charcoal initially used as war paint. "Would you like to start off the entertainment?"

Lightning leaned in, boldly swiping a finger through one the pots and rubbing the powder between her finger and thumb. "Are you about to start face painting?" There was a huff of amusement in her voice, and with the remainder of charcoal on her finger, she swiped it down the bridge of Fang's nose.

She seemed surprised when Fang quickly grabbed her wrist, stopping Lightning from doing any more. "Just to be clear, I don't want you drunkenly drawing cat whiskers on me. That would be insulting as the last—"

"Last Yun?" Light smirked. "And don't assume I'm drunk either, _that's insulting._"

Dropping to her knees, Vanille placed the box to her side and dipped her thumb into a pot, and proceeded to wipe it around Fang's eyes.

Screwing her eyes shut, Fang let Vanille get on with it rather than have her eye mistakenly poked out. "I haven't actually agreed to any of this yet, you know that right?"

"_Well_," Vanille sang, "I was thinking about that fire dance you used to do."

Well, it was just as well Vanille had asked while she was only a few drinks in, if she'd had anymore it would've sounded like a good idea. The fire dancing was something she'd practiced when she wasn't sparring, and something she kept at, as it was good practice for future impressive moves in battle. That was in the past however.

"Vanille I haven—"

"But you're so good at it."

"I haven't done it in centuries."

"Fire dance? _Fire. Dance_?"

With Vanille still painting around her eyes Fang was unable to see Light's expression, but she couldn't help but swallow. Yes, she was frightened at how impressed Lightning sounded - because if it had Lightning's interest then it wouldn't take much for Fang to give in and do it.

* * *

><p>As if Fang could do any more to impress her, the words 'fire dance' had to crop up. Lightning drank in Fang; vaguely aware of how hungry she must look, as Vanille finished a mask pattern much akin to bat wings upon the huntress's face.<p>

"You can do that?"

Lightning was unsure as to why she sounded sceptical; the woman had proved she could do a lot of things, which never ceased to amaze her.

"Yeah," Fang sighed. "It's just a lot of staff twirling, you've seen me do it countless times."

Vanille grabbed Lightning by the hand, managing to smudge the charcoal over both of their hands in the process. "Lightning, you've seen nothing like it," she gushed. "She can spin it so fast, and on the back of her neck, over her shoulders and… oh it looks so graceful."

This she had to see. "Fang?" Obviously knowing what she wanted, Fang refused to look at her. "_Faaang_."

"Don't you dare, Light."

Wisely, Vanille moved out of the way, giving Lightning more room to reach for Fang's chin. She wasn't used to pleading, but…"Please, for me?"

Fang licked her lips suddenly, her piercing green eyes finally opening as she eagerly awaited a bribe.

There were too many people around for Light's liking, but Vanille groaned from behind her. "Just appease the woman, Lightning."

A sneaky pair of hands pushed her forward, and Lightning was an inch away from head-butting Fang in the face. Luckily Fang had preempted Vanille's actions and stopped her just in time.

Heart and stomach aflutter, it was like she was about to experience her first kiss with Fang all over again. A teasing noise escaped from Vanille's throat, trying to urge them on, and Light felt her face grow hot with embarrassment.

The kiss lasted as quicker than a blink, but it was enough to make Fang jump to her feet. "You'll have to lead people to the sand if you want me to do this."

"Don't worry, I will. Your bō staff should be propped in the corner beside the seating area."

"Yeah, I think I remember seeing it now actually. Give me fifteen minutes or so to warm up."

With that Fang disappeared back into the same building as earlier, leaving Light with a beaming Vanille. Picking up a pot of charcoal, Vanille waved it around, looking ready to keep painting. "May I?"

It would surely pass the time. "Anywhere but my face."

So Vanille grabbed her left arm instead, replicating a pattern similar to the leather armbands on her arm at first, before adding an intricate straight-lined pattern that reminded her of the l'Cie brand. The Oerban took her time, taking great pride in her work, and it wasn't long before a crowd of people were watching Vanille at work as if she was some sort of tattoo artist.

Fang had been gone at least thirty-five minutes before she reappeared with staff in hand, dropping the feather capelet by Vanille. Not only had Vanille painted Lightning's arm in this time, but she'd started on some of the soldiers too, taking great joy in the ones who asked her to paint their chests and backs.

At least a dozen more people were decorating each other in their own tribal patterns, some still finishing off their artwork, when Vanille called for a silence.

Cupping her hands over her mouth she called out, "Anyone who wants to see _the_ Oerba Yun Fang in action needs to join us at the shore."

Despite what she said, Vanille skipped off momentarily, returning with a small drum under her arm, as if she was really about to make a spectacle of it all.

"Is there any need, Van?"

Light could sense the discomfort ebbing from Fang, leaving her partly guilty for egging her on. Then again, this was Fang. If Fang didn't want to do something, she would say.

_She wouldn't succumb to peer pressure. _

Fang shook her head, wandering away from the great fire and towards the sea after lighting each end of the staff. A stream of people trickled away from the food and drink, intrigued by the promise of such an amazing spectacle.

There was enough moonlight for everyone to see, and the excitable, babbling crowd managed to form an orderly arc around the beach, with Fang out in front. Lightning took pride of place directly in line, vaguely able to hear Adonis exclaim his confusion at what was happening.

Holding the flaming staff in front of her, Fang twirled it slowly at first to the beat of Vanille's drum, almost like she was paddling in a kayak. Her skin was golden, shadows flickering against her face in a way that showed off the enviable angles of her face. She twirled the staff with deliberate ease around her neck, before being weaved around one arm, only to be caught by the opposite hand.

With each passing move, the speed gradually increased. Throwing the staff high in the air, the crowd became alive with applause and exclamations, and when Fang caught it, she kicked out, twisting her own body and mirroring the movements of the staff.

There was nothing but fiery circles burnt into Lightning's vision, that when Fang finished with one last high throw, her eyes still saw the trails of fire. The staff was caught with the same amount of ease, and Fang ducked into a bow, holding the lit staff behind her back.

The percussion ended the second a hand grasped the bō, giving Light suspicions that the two Oerbans had done this many times before.

And as a small fan base clustered around the huntress, exclaiming their admirations and desires to learn, an ugly pang of jealously welled up Lightning. Scrunching up her nose, she could only blame her overall tiredness from their long journey for not thinking clearly.

"Now that is quite the face." Looking left, it was Alyssa, giving her a look that spoke a thousand words. "You and her, hmm?" The bubbly, and still intoxicated girl was nodding to herself, staring at the same person Lightning was. "None of us really guessed it y'know."

"Oh?" Lightning's reply was clipped, but she was far from angry.

Alyssa carried on. "Like, Fang has this coquettish look and way about her, so in hindsight, although there were hints… we just never pegged you two."

Lightning folded her arms. She found that hard to believe, especially with a perceptive Caius in their group. "What? Any of you?"

"Oh! No. Just me and Adonis had this chat earlier after Vanille let slip. I think you were asleep at the time."

_That's more like it,_ Lightning thought, inwardly smiling.

As soon as her name was mentioned, the redhead was quick to race to her own defence. "It was an accident!"

Lightning fought the urge to pat Vanille on the head like she would when she wanted to wind Serah up. Anyone learning of her involvement with Fang… well, they were welcome to the news.

"It's fine," she shrugged, though it was one thing to accept feelings and another to discuss them, Lightning felt unable to breathe as well as before. "It wasn't intentionally a secret - we had a job to do."

Vanille winked, giving Alyssa a short and sharp nudge with her elbow. "Always keeps to her Focus, this one. Like at the moment, her focus is on Fang."

The soldier couldn't help but scoff, but Alyssa "aww'd", giving Vanille the impression that her small joke was remotely humorous. It reminded Lightning that she wasn't where she wanted to be.

After all, Fang had only done this display for her.

"Forget it." She heard Fang say. "I'm not going to be teaching anyone soon, nor am I doing it again." It didn't help that everyone was fuelled up on alcohol, but Fang looked close to ramming the staff down some throats.

"This isn't school," Lightning chided the other men and women on approach, "give her some room."

Shoving the bō staff into the unexpected arms of one of the admirers, Fang broke through the crowd.

"Saviour," Fang smiled.

The paint around her eyes had smudged from heat and sweat. Rubbing her thumb across both of Fang's cheeks, Lightning corrected the makeup.

"That was really something," she said slipping her hand into the huntress's as they headed back to the fire. "Is there anything you can't do? Other than say no to me."

The hand Lightning was holding twitched. "Hey, you don't rule over me so easy."

If that was true, there was yet to be proof. The fire dancing was a pretty good case against her. "Are you sure? Do you remember what you just did? For_ me_."

Fang bit her lip, trying not to give in to defeat. "Shut it, you."

With her free hand Lightning twiddled the braid in Fang's hair gently, before giving it a slight tug. "I liked it better when you were trying to impress me."

Without warning Fang tried to catch Lightning off guard and dip her into a kiss. But as Fang hooked her leg behind Light's knee, the sand gave way and they fell unceremoniously.

"Ah shit," Fang cursed when their foreheads collided, before chuckling sheepishly. "Not that drunk, I swear."

They were nothing but a mess of limbs in cold sand, but it was perfect.

"Are you going to kiss me or what?" Lightning asked, divulging in the moment of Fang on top of her. The green eyes staring into her were something else completely, and Lightning was close to melting like sea foam into the shore.

Fang dropped, putting most of her weight onto her forearms, moulding their bodies nicely together, ensuring her decent to Light's lips was slow and teasing.

And just when Lightning thought Fang had given in, she pulled her head back. "And let you win? Nah."

Grinning ear to ear, Lightning took a firm hold of Fang by the back of her neck and kissed her like it was the end of her days. Lightning won out all right.

* * *

><p>The celebrations reached far into the night, with the majority of the soldiers and workers showing no sign of stopping, with the exception of a few men and women out cold from drinking. It was warm enough even at this time of night, so sleeping outside wouldn't be the death of them. However it was safe to say there was no work going to be done tomorrow, he amount of alcohol the village had put away.<p>

Fang tried to blink away the exhaustion, having zoned out of a group conversation for at least five minutes, thanks the soothing sensation of Vanille braiding her hair. Any feathers that had fallen from her outfit had now been entwined in her hair from the looks of it. The gentle tugging always made her relax to the point of sleep and her state of intoxication didn't help in the slightest.

From the corner of her eye Fang spotted Adonis grafting away at a pretty member of the Guardian Corps, and from the way she was touching his forearm and leaning in to laugh at whatever he said, she guessed it was paying off. As long as he didn't get too attached, since they were due to leave by carrier tomorrow afternoon.

She prayed her hangover would last until the morning latest.

"It's like Oerba was never the sad, abandoned old place it was." Vanille patted Fang on the back, signalling that she was done. There was no way of telling what her hair looked like without having to get up, so she settled with the fact she trusted Vanille's artistic vision.

"I quite like it being like this," Fang admitted. "Just could do with fewer soldiers and more civilians, and it will be eventually, I guess…" Sensing a downward turnin their conversation, Fang instantly changed the topic. "Are you gonna be doing Yeul's hair next? She gestured to me before, I just forgot to tell you. The girls have really taken a shine to you this evening, huh?"

"Yes well you and Light aren't exactly typical girls - they've taken a shine to me because I'm _refreshing_. With me it's not all about who's the biggest, strongest male in the group, or battle talk from you two."

"Hey! You're wrong. Noel doesn't try and play alpha, it's mostly Caius. And Adonis tries to join in. And we do have intelligent conversations, I'll have you know."

"In privacy I bet."

Fang clicked her tongue. "We never slinked off from the group, or had any sort of privacy, thank you very much."

That seemed to surprise Vanille. "Didn't you?"

"We were happy just to have each other's company. I have missed holding her at night though."

"Aww!" Vanille looked at Fang like she was a cute puppy. Fang hated being looked at like she was cute. She was to be feared and respected, a one-hundred percent bada—

"Fang?"

Whipping her head round a little too fast, Fang tried to focus on where she'd heard Lightning's voice, but a sudden wave of nausea overcome her. She placed a hand over her mouth, hoping to hide the fact she was a bit drunker than she thought. Lightning came into view from her right, crouching at her side.

"Are you still planning on staying up?"

She looked just as ready for sleep as Fang did; her movements rocky as she waited for an answer. This warm, hand on shoulder approach from Lightning was a massive difference to over a year and a half ago, and Fang was proud of herself for being the person responsible.

Fang answered with a yawn. "Definitely not, let's go."

Behind them, Vanille made a noise from the back of throat, disappointed at how easily they were ready to surrender for the night. The sun would be up before long, it wasn't like they were retreating for an early night.

Standing and walking was going to be an impossible task, even with each other's help and despite the small distance they'd have to traverse. Fang instantly through her arm over Lightning's shoulders for support, as she was definitely having the harder time.

_Bed... So close, but yet so far. _

Laughing to herself, Lightning guided Fang around the remaining people, keeping her arms wrapped around Fang with an impossibly solid grip.

"Did you stop drinkin' or something?" Fang refused to think that Lightning was better at holding alcohol than her.

"Mm…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

They reached the metal staircase eventually. Fang went first and missed the step completely; she grazed her elbow as her arm slid through the gap in the stairs. There was a sudden impact as Lightning fell onto her, laughing uncontrollably.

_No one else better had seen that…_

Fighting for breath, Lightning finally answered, "Well, I _may_ have been sick."

"So that's where you vanished to. Guess I win."

"You don't win anything." Lightning slapped her backside. "Up you get, Yun."

"Yes ma'am." Keeping her hands on the stairs, Fang decided that tripping was her body's way of telling her that the easiest way was to crawl on all fours. She wasn't allowed to stop at all, with Lightning giving her the push she didn't exactly need, but got anyway.

The feathers that adorned her neck and shoulders were screaming to be removed, but in the back of her mind Fang pictured Vanille also screaming at her to take care of the Oerban heritages that stood the test of time.

At the very least she didn't rip it off, but she let it lie on the table, vowing to sort it out in the morning. Lightning should've been used to belts and buckles, but the series of grunts and groans told Fang that maybe Lightning had forgotten how she'd even put it on in the first place.

"Need a hand?" Fang offered.

With a long sigh, Lightning stopped shaking the buckles and ties that held her feathery getup in place. "_Please_."

Stripped to underclothes, Fang ducked into the rightmost bunk – since her body was about to collapse that way anyway. She moaned at the softness, sprawling out as much as the wall to her left would let her. Lightning crawled into the space she left, letting Fang close her arms around her at long last.

"G'night Light." No response. Already the soldier's breathing had levelled. Fang kissed the back of her head, peeved at how easily Lightning had drifted off. Yes, Fang was tired, but her mind was still fighting like a child to stay awake.

The only thing that would appease her was in her arms. Gently she kissed the nape of Lightning neck. "Love you." Not even one hint of movement. "Gonna marry the hell outta you one day," she continued to murmur, the corners of her mouth lifting in amusement. Now she was sleepy. "Yun Lightning… Lightning Yun. We'll figure it out."

With the exception of the chattering outside, a silence finally settled in the room. Fang was on the very cusp...

"More like Fang Farron."

Fang's eyes shot open, she felt immediately sober. "Oh. You were awake, huh?"

"_Oh." _Lightning stressed, mocking Fang entirely. "Yes I was. Love you too Fang."

* * *

><p>Eventually they settled on Yun-Farron.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Man it seems surreal actually finishing this! I never expected the chapter, or the story to go as far as it did. I want to thank each and every one of you for even taking the time to read The Other Battlefield, and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. **

**Genril x **


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